Deadliest Game
by Jessi84
Summary: Horatio is part of a dangerous game. His only contact is afraid of him going dark and not being able to come back to the light again. When one of his former colleagues is sucked into this game of lies, Horatio has to do everything to protect them. Even risking his own life and future.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay this story was written for a challenge on the DC Board. The basic requirement was to write a story that has some Undercover Work in it and I came up with this idea. :) It is AU and doesn't really follow up a concrete time line from the show. **

**It is rated M because of language and adultish behaviour. Nothing really explicit though. I just want to be on the safe side.**

**As always, the characters don't belong to me, except fort he one or other OC. **

**Reviews are, like always, very much appreciated. **

**Chapter 1**

Frank Tripp gave his companion a rather annoyed look. At first the other man had demanded to meet in this god-forsaken hot spot in the middle of nowhere and now they were (once again) running in circles. Frank didn't like running in circles at all that was for sure. "Really Julian," he sighed for at least the hundredth time today, "just tell me when the ship will arrive."

"I don't think so Francis," the other shook his head. "What do I get from giving you such information?"

"I can tell you what you don't get," Frank growled, "a heat-stroke."

Julian just laughed and took another pull on his cigarette. "I don't feel all that hot and I'm the one who has the dark hair here," he grinned.

Frank just shook his head. Seeing his friend with short black hair was still odd, though it was only one part of the many changes the other man had gone under. There was the hair, yes, but his eye-color as well. Instead of sparkling blue, they were now a rather deep brown, almost black color. A few scars were visible on his face and Frank wasn't sure if they were fake or real and to be honest, he didn't want to know. Plastic surgery had altered his facial structure in a very subtle way and just because Frank knew who he was dealing with, he was able to see through the fakeness. "Well maybe you don't sweat in your fancy Armani slacks and dress shirt, but I sure do," he grunted.

"Armani? Francis...please…," the other smirked cockily, "those are hand made, not from the racks. But enough of fashion talk, what will I get from you when I tell you about possible shipments?" he asked and turned his head to the car that was waiting a couple of meters behind him. "I fear my friends are getting restless and to be frank, so am I."

"Interesting choice of friends," Frank snorted.

Julian just shrugged. "Be that as it may, you know the drill. Give me information and I might give you some as well."

Frank took a step forward, so he could whisper his response. "You're taking this a lot too serious. You do remember whom you're working for, don't you H?"

Without thinking Horatio grabbed the taller man's collar and pulled him down so they were face to face. "It's my ass on the line and I do whatever I please to keep it intact. And if you ever utter this name again," he hissed threateningly.

"What's then? You'll kill me?"

"No, that'll be too merciful," Horatio snarled.

"Hey Evans!" a voice came from the car. "It's time to leave."

Without letting go of Frank, Horatio turned around to face the two men that were slowly coming closer. "I'm not finished here yet."

"You don't have to soil your hands with him," Terry nodded in Frank's direction. "We'll do that for you."

"Yeah, that's no problem," Charlie agreed. "It's quicker if we two do it anyway, we don't have that much time."

"And why is that?" Horatio asked curiously.

"He called the cops. We heard them via police radio."

"Oh he told the others about our friendly gathering, did he?" Horatio raised a questioning eyebrow at Frank. "How interesting." With a small shove he let go of the other man and waved his hand dismissively. "Do have some fun," he said nonchalantly, "but don't kill him, he's very dear to me."

"Of course boss," the two hulks grinned.

Horatio took the time to lid another cigarette and did his best to keep a stoic look on his face when his two minions used poor Frank as some kind of punching bag. He didn't stop them until he heard other cars approaching from the distance. "That's enough, get in the car," he ordered them and took a subtle look at Frank. He'd surely have a black eye and the one or other bruise, but nothing life-threatening. As dumb as his two minions were, they surely knew how to inflect major pain with little effort. "Until next time, Francis," he nodded his farewell and got into the car. "I really don't feel like being the special guest on a cop party, so let's get home."

"Yes, Sir," the driver nodded and swiftly turned the car so they'd leave in the same direction they'd been coming from.

When Horatio looked out of the window, he couldn't help but notice the bulky outline of a Hummer stopping at the same spot he'd been standing a few minutes before. With an inward sigh he closed his eyes and tried to relax. It didn't do him well to dwell on things that he couldn't change. This would only drive him mad at the end and this would lead into death. And being dead wasn't very high on his current to-do-list.

**tbc**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you all for your reviews! The chapters will be longer now, hope you don't mind. **

**Chapter 2**

"Julian Evans is one of the sickest men I've ever met," Eric exclaimed the next day in the break-room.

"Oh you've met him?" Frank drawled sarcastically and quickly pressed his hand onto his bruised rips when he made the wrong move.

"Well, no, but…figuratively speaking," Eric conceded.

"I still don't understand why you met with him, Frank...without backup nonetheless," Calleigh exclaimed. "He could have easily killed you."

"He wouldn't…," Frank tried to argue, but it was rather feebly.

"Because you're a cop? As far as I know he doesn't distinguish between cop or no cop," Natalia chimed in.

"He's a sick bastard, that's what he is," Ryan nodded. "Guess taking all those drugs twisted his mind completely."

"Who says that he's doing drugs?" Frank asked even though he knew he shouldn't. There was no need to defend Julian Evans if only Julian Evans wasn't one of his best friends.

"He's the right man of Antonio Gonzalvez, one of the major drug lords here in Florida, of course he's doing drugs."

"Well we don't know about that…about the drugs I mean," Calleigh intervened, "he's actually too clever to be an addict, or otherwise we would have some evidence on him and lock him up in a cell."

"I just wish H would be here, I'm sure that he'd get him.. I mean... H always did the impossible, didn't he?" Ryan sighed and sat down next to Frank.

"Yeah," Natalia mumbled.

Horatio had been gone for almost a year now. One morning he just hadn't arrived at the lab and a small handwritten note had told the team that he wouldn't come back in the foreseeable future. He had left Eric in charge of the lab instead of Calleigh, stating that it was time for the young man to take some responsibility and having a very capable second-in-command (namely Calleigh) would help him to do a formidable job. Of course this had surprised the team, most of all Calleigh and Eric, but when the Chief had given his approval without further questioning, they had realized that Horatio's disappearance hadn't been a spurt of the moment decision, but had been well-planned over a longer period of time.

Naturally, they had tried to contact him, blatantly refusing his wish stated in the note not to do so, but to no avail. His cell-number was no longer working, his house seemed to be abandoned and no one seemed to know anything about his whereabouts. All in all it was as if the earth had swallowed him up and even a dead person would leave more traces than their friend and mentor.

"I think that H would be ashamed if he had to listen to our self-pity," Eric shook his head in dismay. "He was..no..he IS our mentor and taught us everything we know. Seeing us like this would make him question himself and that's a shameful thought. We learned from the best and I'm sure that H will come back again and I certainly don't want to meet him eye to eye to him with empty hands. I want him to be proud of us. Yes, that's what I want. I want him to be proud of us, I want to show him that we mastered his test."

"His test?" Ryan asked confused.

"Yes his test, Ryan. I see his disappearance as a test for us; for every individual and for our team in general. Of course, we're all trained and good at what we do, but let's be honest.. in the end we can always count on Horatio having our backs, right?"

The other took a moment to mull it over, but then nodded.

"In the end he was always there to give us advice, lend a helping hand and smooth our path… Now it's time for us to show him that we can do this without him. Every student has to pass a test, so the mentors know that they taught their students well. And what I believe is that this is H's test for us."

Frank couldn't help but stare at the young man in wonder. Since Horatio had left the lab, Eric had matured continuously. At first he had clearly struggled with the burden and responsibility of being a supervisor, but day by day, he'd grown into this role. Sometimes Frank really wondered if Horatio was some kind of seer and had foreseen the outcome of this particular decision. But then again, Horatio was a brilliant man, a brilliant mentor and friend with a gift of knowing people better than they knew themselves. Maybe he was the only one who had realized the potential slumbering inside Delko and had taken advantage of that. No matter the reason, in the end it had been a success.

"You're right Delko," Ryan nodded and stood up. "It's time to show him what we're capable of. I mean…I'm sure that I'll always have questions for him," he grinned at the others who smiled back easily, "but I do want to show him that I can stand on my own two feet."

"Let's show him then and let us nail this bastard Evans," Natalia chimed in.

"Yes, let's get him and this whole bunch of low-lives," Calleigh nodded.

Frank just smiled at the enthusiastic group. He knew for sure that H would be very proud of them right now, he knew that he was. Of course it was rather ironic that they wanted to have their mentor's head, but that was life. "I'm sure H will be proud of you once he's back," he announced. "But let me make one thing clear to you. What I'm doing with Evans is none of your business and if you ever feel the need to follow me again, there'll be consequences, you got that?" He gave them all a serious glare. Pointing at his black eye, he continued his little reprimand. "I don't care if you thought that you'd do me a favor, because you clearly didn't. Don't rush into things without consulting me, understood?"

The boys were on the edge to argue with him, but another death glare was shutting them up completely. "Yes Frank…," they mumbled and nodded.

"Good, because don't forget that I'm a Sergeant, Detectives and I'd really hate to pull ranks on you, okay?" he nodded his approval. "And now I leave you alone to-"

"Sgt. Tripp?" a young officer opened the door.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, but there's a young boy waiting for you."

"A young boy?" Frank furrowed his brows.

"Erm, yes," the officer shifted uneasily. "He said he got a message for you and only for you to read. You know, we tried to tell him that you're busy, but he was quite...erm...stubborn."

"I see," Frank nodded. "Well then let's go and find out what he wants, shall we?"

"This is going to be interesting," Eric rubbed his hands in anticipation and motioned the others to follow Frank.

"Ah…kids…you're not invited."

"But-"

"No buts, I'm quite confident that I can deal with a boy in a building full of police officers," Frank said amused. "Leave Papa Bear alone for a minute, will you? What was that about standing on your own feet? Do that…but somewhere else please." Sometimes he could actually understand why Horatio had needed a change of scenery. Personally, Frank would have preferred a long holiday on Hawaii or Cayman Islands instead of working with one of the most feared drug lords, but to each their own. "And now shoo," he waved them away and followed the young officer.

"Tell me you didn't put him into one of the interrogation rooms," Frank rolled his eyes when he realized which way they were taking.

"Well, Sir…we thought it might be better to keep him there, so he wouldn't try to get away. His message seems to be important," the officer replied a bit unsure.

"And you didn't think that I know the boy? That he might be..a nephew or something and you treat him like a common criminal?"

"He's your nephew?" the officer asked wide-eyed, which made Frank roll his eyes again.

"No. But he could be, so next time think before acting," he growled and opened the door to the interrogation room. "You're not needed any longer, thank you," he shut the door into the officer's shocked face and walked to the young boy. The lad couldn't be older than 10 or 11 and looked quite out of the place. Not that this was surprising at all. "I heard you have a message for me?"

"Yes," the boy nodded. "You're Francis."

"And what makes you think I am?" Frank asked amused and took the seat next to the boy.

"Señor Julian said to wait for a big man with little hair," the lad grinned.

Leave it to Horatio to make fun of his hairstyle. "Well, yes, this does sound like me," Frank pulled a face. "What's your name?"

"Angelo."

"Okay, so Angelo, would you like something to drink? What about a Cola, hmm?"

"Yes," the boy grinned widely.

"Thought you'd like that. Just wait here and I'll get you one, okay?" he asked and stood up again.

The boy just smiled shyly. "Okay."

"Won't be long," Frank reassured him and quickly left the room. _"Typical. First they put him into some room and then they don't even give him something to drink. What's going on with officers these days?"_ he thought to himself and put some coins into the vendor. _"I mean really, he's just a kid," _he continued his inner grumbling when he reached for the ice cold can and made his way back to the boy.

"Here you go, Junior," he handed him the can once he was back in the room. "So tell me Angelo, what does the message say?"

"I don't know," the boy shrugged and eagerly took a sip of his drink. "Señor Julian told me not to look at it. Here," he reached into his pocket and pulled out a rather crumbled piece of paper.

"_Rice paper,"_ Frank realized immediately and knew what this meant. This message was both private and very important and Horatio wanted the message to be destroyed after reading. Well some water would easily take care of that. "Thanks," he smiled and opened the message.

_**A nice steak should help with your eye. You can still put it on the grill afterwards. Anyway, I have to take a rain check for our next coffee meeting, since I decided that I needed some adventure. Have you ever gone on a cruise? Well I'll tell you once I'm back. Until then my old friend, I'd advice some boxing-classes. Take care.**_

He read Horatio's familiar scrawl and his reactions went from amused, to annoyed, back to being excited. The steak was definitely Horatio's way to confirm that it was indeed him who had written the message. The coffee meeting was Horatio's way to make sure that only Frank would understand the meaning. His drinking in a bar and Horatio staying with him while enjoying the one or other cup had stayed between the two of them. And the cruise, well a cruiser was a ship, right? And a shipment was the reason of their little fight the other day. So to sum it up, he knew exactly when the shipment would come in and he knew that this was Horatio's way of apologizing. He'd given him information without receiving some in return.

"Do you like the message?" the boy asked curiously which made Frank smile again.

"It was very informative for sure. So did Mr. Julian tell you that you'd get a reward for being a good boy?"

The child just nodded eagerly.

"Very well then, I'll get a nice female officer and she'll take care of you. Do you like that?"

"Will I meet my mom again?" the child asked hopefully.

"We'll do our best. You're safe here, Angelo," he reassured the child. A few months ago, Horatio had used a child for the first time to get important messages to him with the demand to keep the children safe and get them back to their families. As far as Frank had found out (he had never directly asked Horatio about it), the kids had been kidnapped by the Serpens and were used as living drug curiers. Well as long as they lived anyway. More than one had died during the travels and by sending them to Frank, Horatio tried to safe at least some of them.

"I just want to see my mom again," the boy replied.

"I'm sure you do. I'll get a nice lady and then everything will work out just fine, Junior," he patted the boy's head gently. Then he grabbed the message and stuffed it into his pocket. He'd get rid of it later. "Just enjoy your drink. You deserve it." With that he stepped out of the room and immediately reached for his cell. Hitting the speed dial he didn't have to wait long for the other person to pick up. "Chief Higgins? This is Sgt. Tripp speaking. Sir, I came to the knowledge of an incoming shipment this evening around seven. Yes Sir, it was an anonymous sender."

"Blasted cops had to turn up after all," the man next to Horatio spat.

"Mhm," Horatio just mumbled and took the binoculars from him. They were standing on a hill from where they had overseen the unloading of their cargo. They were close enough to see everything clearly, but far enough away not to be seen immediately. "They're too late though," he handed the binoculars back again and lit up a cigarette.

"Probably had to stuff their fat stomachs with coffee and donuts before," another man chuckled.

"Probably," Horatio just grinned.

"You're not correct though, Boss. Not all the trucks have left."

"I know, but this is hardly the cops' achievement, but more the fact that we have been too lazy," Horatio pointed out. Everything had worked out as he had planned. He had known that it would take the police some time to come up with a plan and getting their forces together, so that they would never arrive on time. And he hadn't wanted them to be on time. He had wanted them to catch one truck or maybe two, but not more. Anything else would have been too suspicious, since he'd been the one who had coordinated this shipment. Now he had killed two birds with one stone. Gonzalvez wouldn't suspect a leak in his midst and Horatio had given the police enough concrete evidence to believe that he was still loyal to them. It had indeed been a very productive day.

"Not to forget that the stupid captain actually blew the horn when they arrived. I mean, seriously, how dense can someone be."

"Well, he will pay for his incompetence," Horatio snarled. "Once the cops let him out, he'll learn that no one is going to joke with us. And if they won't let him out, his life in prison will be hell."

The two men eyed their boss and exchanged a brief look. It was a known fact that no one fooled with Julian Evans and if someone tried, there was hell to pay. He'd always been…almost kind to them, but they knew better than to aggravate him. He surely had a quick temper, especially if things didn't work out like he wanted them to.

"I've seen enough," Horatio said and flicked his cigarette to the ground. Then he put it out with his shoe and reached down to gather the stub. From his pocket, he pulled out a small plastic bag and put the stub into it.

His minions had seen that happening more time than they could count, but never asked about it. This time though, Terry couldn't help but asking.

"You know Boss, I've been thinking.."

"Really?" Horatio drawled. "I wasn't sure that you were capable of doing so."

"Well…yes." What was that about him being almost kind to them? That was when he wasn't a sarcastic jerk. "The cigarette stubs, you always pick them up…"

"You have quite the observation skills I must say."

"Yes, thank you." Terry knew that Julian was insulting him, but he wouldn't back down now. "And I was wondering why you're doing this?"

Horatio eyed the two men with squinted eyes and let them squirm. He knew that the combined intelligence of these two wouldn't be enough to light up a room, but he also knew that it was better to answer some questions, so they would stop thinking about certain habits of his. "Did you know," he started after a while, "that it's very easy to find my DNA on these?" he asked and showed them the bag with the stubs.

"And….?"

Well maybe their combined intelligence couldn't even light up a candle.

Horatio just rolled his eyes at their blank stares, but continued nevertheless. "Imagine the police would find one of these and extract the DNA? They would find out that I was here or somewhere else where we did our dealings…"

"But there can never be enough of this DN-thing, to know that it was you!" Charlie exclaimed.

Horatio stopped himself from giving a lecture about DNA, this would be too much information for their feeble minds. "Well I saw it on TV," he pointed out.

"TV?" Well this was something they could follow.

"Yes. These crime shows? You know CSI Iowa City or whatever their names are? Well I happen to enjoy watching these shows, since we can learn a lot from them." He had no idea if there was such a thing like CSI Ohio, but he was sure the boys didn't know either. Moreover, it was the easiest way to explain his knowledge about investigations. He could hardly tell them that he was working as a part-time CSI after all.

The boys still looked a bit doubtful, but accepted his explanation nevertheless. "If you say so," they shrugged.

"I do and now quiz time is over, we need to get back to headquarters and tell the Big Boss that the cops are an annoying bunch of pricks."

"He won't be happy," Terry pointed out the obvious and together, the three men made their way back to their car.

"No he won't," Horatio agreed, but now it was too late to change things. He just hoped that the incompetence of his own people would cover up his doings

**tbc**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry folks for taking so long for the new chapter, but I had and still have a bronchitis and wasn't up to post a new one.**

**Thank you all a lot for your reviews and Hello to my new readers as well.**

**Please tell me what you think, I really appreciate it. Thank You!**

**Chapter 3**

It was during lunchtime on the following day that found Horatio entering the anteroom of Gonzalvez' office. The Big Boss had been out the night before and so Horatio had had some time to think of possible answers to Antonio's inquiring questions. Not that he was actually afraid of being interrogated, but it never hurt to be prepared in advance.

"Is he in?" he asked the secretary with a small smile plastered on his face. Julian Evans wasn't particularly known for being a gentleman, but he knew it was always a good thing to be on a secretary's good side. No one knew more about the boss and his moods than a secretary. He was talking from his own experiences here.

"He is," she nodded, "and he isn't happy."

"I wonder why," he rolled his eyes and grinned, when she gave him an amused look.

"He's waiting for you actually, so better don't keep him waiting. You know how he is…" she trailed off, because they both knew exactly how Antonio Gonzalvez acted when he was in a bad mood.

"Mhm," Horatio just mumbled to himself. Being his right hand hadn't spared him from the one or other _unfortunate_ episode. Not every one of his scars on his face was fake. If people thought that Julian Evans was a little sadist, then they hadn't met Gonzalvez yet. "You know where my will is."

"Of course and I also know that you will leave everything to me," she winked at him.

"In your dreams Maria, in your dreams," Horatio chuckled and straightened himself before he knocked on the door and then entered the door.

"Ah Julian, just the man I was waiting for."

"Sir," Horatio gave him a small, polite nod and walked to the massive oak desk. If he told anyone that the office of one of the major drug lords actually looked like one of a judge or a doctor, he was sure no one would believe him. Gonzalvez loved to buy expensive things with his money and money he surely had enough. There were four things that mattered to Gonzalvez: money, women, drugs and outer appearance. He wasn't some unschooled twit from the streets who had been lucky, no he had an academic background and this made him both dangerous and unpredictable.

"I'm not happy with yesterday's episode," Antonio continued and motioned the other man to take a seat.

Horatio took this as a very good sign, but he kept on being submissive. They both knew that it was an act, but it did show Antonio that Horatio feared him enough to forget his own ego. "If I may say that, Sir, I found it quite unpleasant as well."

"Unpleasant?" Antonio raised his brows. "I don't think that this is word I would use."

"Yes Sir," Horatio nodded quickly. "I'm sure that you've already been informed about what happened last night in every detail?"

"Yes, this stupid shit of a captain will certainly learn that we are not to be fooled with," the other man growled darkly.

"The question is rather if he will live long enough to actually learn a lesson," Horatio smirked dangerously.

"We will see about that," the other smiled as well. "So how much did we lose?"

As the one being in charge of economic part of the business, Horatio pulled out a sheet of paper. Who would have known that leading a crime lab would come in favour when leading a drug empire, or well, helping to lead a drug empire? Horatio definitely not. "I talked to Miguel this morning and he told me that the cops were able to stop two trucks. We calculated the drugs that arrived at the meeting point and the ones that had already been on the trucks, plus the drugs still on the ship…and well yeah, assuming that the captain didn't cheat on us and actually had the total value we ordered with him, we lost about 300 packages."

"300?!" Antonio exclaimed and jumped from his chair, which made Horatio cringe. "Do you know how much money that is? This creepy little shit of a captain, he'll hope to have never been born once I get my hands on him," he seethed.

Horatio wasn't sure if this was a rhetorical question or not. Of course he had averaged out how much money they had lost last night and he was sure that Antonio knew it as well, hence the outburst, but Horatio decided to answer nevertheless. "About 3 or 3 ½ millions."

"Stupid cops, always getting in my way," the man mumbled to himself as if he hadn't heard Horatio. "Did I give them any reason to disrupt my business?" he suddenly turned to Horatio, who couldn't help but blink at him.

"Ah..Sir?"

"This stupid cops," Antonio started again in a tone as if he would talk to simple minded person. "I'm leaving them alone, doing their business and all I ask for them is giving me the same courtesy."

Well this was certainly one of his mad-moments as Horatio liked to call them. "Absolutely, Sir. We hardly kill anyone and if those junkies kill themselves, it's hardly our fault. I guess they just found us yesterday because someone was on their way to get some donuts so their lazy arses would get only bigger."

Antonio had to laugh at that. "You're really the witty one, aren't you my dear Julian? I can always count on you to make a sarcastic comment. Well..well…," he sat down again, his elbows on the desk and his chin resting on his hands. "What's your plan?"

"My plan, Sir?"

"Yes of course, how will we get our property back? There is this nice villa in Argentina that I want to buy…"

"Oh..uhm…this might be a bit tricky."

"Well you're a very clever guy, aren't you? I'm sure that you have something up your sleeves." And his tone was telling Horatio that there could only be one answer to that.

Horatio cleared his throat and rubbed the spot on his right forearm where his tattoo was hidden beneath his shirtsleeve. Most guys in the "family" featured their tattoo on more visible places like the neck or the face, but Horatio had wisely decided to have it on his forearm. "Well to be honest I don't see that many ways to get the drugs back. I can only assume about what might be a plan."

"Then start," Antonio leaned back.

"Well I'm not sure who has taken possession of the drugs, it might be the FBI, DEA or the Crime Lab," he started and seeing the other nod, he continued, "regardless, they will process the drugs, take fingerprints and whatever else they do with such things," he shrugged. "I've read in the newspaper that once they don't need the drugs any longer, they will transport the drugs to incineration, you know, like they do with all these illegal products from… China. In other words, they will destroy it."

"Interesting…"

"Yeah…"

"So what do you suggest?"

"Well I can't say how long they will need to do their things with our drugs, but since it's quite a lot, I don't think that they will leave it in their lab for a long time. If we find out when they will transport it, we could.. well…ask nicely to get it back," he grinned.

"It's a good thing that we're such nice guys," Antonio laughed. "Good, good," he nodded his approval. "Will you be able to find out?"

"I think so, Sir," Horatio nodded. "I do have this contact…"

"Yes, yes I know you do. Heard that your two minions had some fun with him."

"Everyone gets what they deserve," Horatio just shrugged nonchalantly.

"True, very true. Well then, do your best to find out. I count on you, Julian."

"Yes, Sir, I'll have some answers soon," Horatio assured him.

"You better have," Antonio raised an eyebrow. "And now excuse me, Fernandez told me that he has good news concerning one of his little projects."

Now this was interesting. Fernandez was their chief designer of new drugs. A brilliant man, he just worked in the wrong field. "Oh?"

"Yes, something we've been working on for some time now. It will be revolutionary, I can tell you," the other man gushed with excitement.

"I see," Horatio nodded and did his best to conceal his curiosity. He had learned quickly that too many questions could cause unpleasant reactions. "I'll take my leave then and come back to you once I know something," he stood up and just waited for Antonio's dismissal.

"Don't let me wait too long, Julian."

"Of course not," another nod and he quickly made his way outside the snake pit.

"I see you survived. Seems that I don't get hold of your possessions just yet," Maria drawled when she saw him.

"So sorry to disappoint you, Maria," he drawled back. "But I better leave before he changes his mind."

"Not a bad idea, not a bad idea," she hummed to herself and continued her work.

Horatio just ignored her and walked back to his quarters. Now he had to find another kid for a message, because he needed to talk to Frank as soon as possible. He had absolutely no idea how he would make Frank to spill plans about the drug transports, but he didn't have any other choice. Antonio wouldn't be happy with him if he came back with empty hands.

"Damn it all," he hissed and reached for a cigarette. Life as the right hand of a drug lord really was nerve-racking.

_tbc_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Here is the new chapter, a bit quicker this time. Thank you all for your reviews. I know you're all wondering on which side Horatio is on, and I promise you, you will find out sooner or later. **

**Chapter 4**

Horatio pushed up his sunglasses when he saw the other car approaching. It certainly seemed like Frank had gotten his message and this eased his mind, for now. He still wasn't sure how he would winkle out the plans, but he was confident that he and Frank could work something out. Without looking, he reached for the cups of coffee and got out of his car.

"There you are Francis," he greeted the other man with a small smile, when their paths met.

"Julian," Frank only nodded in response. He still felt ridiculous for calling his friend by another name, but he had to live with it. He had to admit that he didn't like it though. "Where are your two monkeys?" he asked when he saw that the car was empty.

Horatio just shrugged. "Thought you'd enjoy a meeting without them."

"You did, did you?" Frank involuntary reached for his still black eye, which was now rather in a nice shape of purple.

"Mhm," Horatio hid his smile. "Coffee?" he hold out one of the cups, while taking a sip of the other one.

"No, I don't think so…"

"Think I laced it with drugs?" Horatio laughed.

"I wouldn't put it past you," Frank murmured, which made Horatio laugh even harder.

"It's good to be suspicious," Horatio approved. "Here," he took a sip of Frank's coffee and swallowed visibly. "See? Still standing," he grinned after a while and held it out again. "Take it as a peace offering, Frank…"

"I'd rather have another steak," Frank grumbled, but took the coffee nevertheless. The fact that Horatio had used his name made him believe that Horatio hadn't had anything sinister in mind. Not that he actually believed that Horatio would hurt him, but to be honest, it was better safe than sorry. "So what's the occasion?"

"You mean except of the fact that I wanted to meet an old friend?" Horatio drawled.

"Yeah, apart from that…"

"Well I need to call in a favor." There was no need to beat around the bush. He knew what he wanted and Frank liked straightforwardness.

"Ah..," Frank just commented and enjoyed his coffee; Horatio, the sly dog, still knew his favorite. Damn him.

"Yes. As you know, you've got something what belongs to us and we'd like to have it back."

"Are we back to riddles again? Please spare me, they only make my head hurt."

"Okay, in other words: we want our drugs back."

Frank almost choked on his coffee. "What? The drugs?"

"Yes," H nodded. "We want it back. And that's where you come into play."

"Me?" he asked incredulously. "I don't have your stupid drugs and I don't see why you should get it back. It's better with us than in your hands."

"You don't have the drugs, I know," Horatio rolled his eyes and ignored Frank's little outburst. "But you know when they will leave the lab," he grinned, his eyes glinting dangerously.

"I can't believe what I'm hearing," Frank exclaimed. "No way!"

"Come one, Francis…we both know that this is only fair."

"Fair? Are out of your mind? You do remember that you're on the wrong side of the law and that we have every right to confiscate drugs? It was you who gave us the tip!"

"Be that as it may, my Boss isn't happy about it and we need them back."

"Stop saying 'we'!" Frank hissed. "You're not one of them!"

"Damn it Frank, you know as well as I do that I am," he yanked at his sleeve and showed him the snake tattoo. "See this? This is who I am at the moment and now get your head out of your ass and help me. I helped you with the drugs, so you could get all the evidence you need. Once this is over, the drugs will be destroyed anyway, so what's the matter?"

"Except of the fact that you will sell it on the streets and people might die?" Frank replied sarcastically. "Oh I don't know…"

"Tell me the dates, Frank. I need to know. Gonzalvez is waiting for answers and if I don't get them, there will be dire consequences, I can tell you."

"I told you from the beginning that it was a bad idea to go undercover," Frank pointed out and it was the truth. He hadn't liked the idea at all and still didn't.

"Fu*k you Frank, I need to give him answers to be in good graces with him. He has another pet project, a revolutionary project," he spat the words, "and he won't tell me what it is about. It's a big one, Frank… a really big one."

Frank just shook his head. "I can't Horatio, really, you know that this is top secret."

Horatio just snorted. "You know as well as I do that it isn't. Remember years back when we were ambushed and Speed almost died? Screw top secret. It's either you telling me or some other guy will find out because he offers one of the drivers a nice trip."

"So why the hubbub? If you're so sure that someone else will find out anyway?"

"Easy. If it's me who finds out, I'm the one who is going to select the people and give them their orders. If someone else finds out, it will be Gonzalvez and this won't be pretty. Believe it or not, but I don't want to see anyone hurt; neither on your side nor on my side. The guys don't care for the police, they just want the drugs. Leave them alone and they will leave you alone as well."

"So you're saying that we should just give them the drugs? Maybe even wrapped up nicely with a bow?"

"I didn't say that. I just said that people don't have to die because someone wants to play the hero. Let them all wear vests and order them to think of themselves and not the drugs."

Frank just snorted. "You make it sound so easy."

"It's not, I know. But I also know that Gonzalvez will find out anyway, but he's giving me the chance to prove myself and this will strengthen my position."

"God, this all sounds like some strategic game."

"Yeah," Horatio laughed merciless. "One bloody game where losing is equivalent to dying." Horatio took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. "Be a friend, Frank. I know it's a lot to ask, but I have the feeling that whatever Gonzalvez is plotting, is so much bigger than those drugs. He's always giddy about new types, but this time it's different. I fear it's really revolutionary, but not in a good way."

Everything that Horatio said did make sense and Frank also knew that Horatio was seldom wrong in his assumptions, but this was big. "I can't decide this on my own, H. We need to involve the Chief."

"This makes it even more complicated," Horatio exclaimed annoyed.

"Maybe so, but we're planning an ambush here and people might die. I'm certainly not making a decision without consulting the Chief."

Horatio knew that Frank was right. It was easier for him to lose some criminals than good cops. "You know I can't go with you."

"I know and that's okay. I will tell the Chief everything you told me and then I will get back to you. It's a good thing that he has a soft spot for you and was the one who talked you into the madness in the first place."

"Yeah…let's hope he won't forget that…," Horatio sighed. Just thinking about it made him queasy. The Chief wasn't always known for seeing the greater Good or the big picture in general. He could only count on Frank and hope that his friend would convince the Chief of the necessity.

"I'll do my best," Frank tried to reassure him and decided to change the subject. "They miss you, you know?"

Horatio had only listened with half an ear. "Who?"

"The team. You know those people in the lab? Your friends? Surrogate family?"

"Ah…yes," Horatio nodded, not really interested.

Frank had certainly expected a bit more interest. "And they hate Julian Evans with passion," he smirked.

"Well then everything is going according to plan."

"Is that all you have to say about this? 'Ah yes' and "according to plan'?" Frank asked confused.

"What else should I say?" Horatio asked back and shrugged. "Anyway," he had a quick look at his watch, "I need to get going. I'm waiting for your answer and do make it quick."

"But-"

Horatio had already turned around was walking to his car. Without turning back, he lifted his hand and waved. "See you soon, old friend," he said goodbye, leaving a nonplussed Frank behind.

"Old friend..," the other murmured. "Friend…sometimes I wonder if you still are…"

It was much later the same day, almost middle of the night, when Horatio was standing in front of his patio doors and looked at the beautiful gardens outside. "They miss you," he mimicked Frank's last words and couldn't help but snort. "What did he expect me to say? That I miss them as well? That I miss my family and friends? Miss being around people I can trust?" he snarled and reached for a whisky tumbler.

"Yes, it would certainly look great if Julian Evans would come back to his quarters with red eyes," he snorted and took a large sip. "What is he even thinking? That I'm on holiday or something? That I enjoy what I'm doing?"

Looking around in his spacious quarters, he couldn't help himself but shiver at the realization that he indeed liked what he was doing, or at least parts of it. "It's certainly an easy way to make money." And money he had.

Enough.

Enough money to drink whisky like it was mere water. Whisky of the kind that cost a few thousand dollars per bottle.

Enough money to have his personal tailor.

Enough money to buy nice cars or houses.

And hell he would buy those if it weren't for the fact that all the money was illegal and once his job was over, they would confiscate everything.

"Damn it all," he cursed and helped himself a cigarette. "And now I'm a chain smoker as well." In the past he had enjoyed a good cigar every once in a while, but never cigarettes. Now he could hardly function without them.

"It's just the stress H, nothing to worry about. It's not like they could find out about you any minute and kill you. No… And he asks me if I'm missing them," he huffed.

"Ask me the next time when I had more than four hours of sleep, Frank, maybe then you will get an answer to that one." Annoyed about his thoughts, he threw the glass into the empty fireplace. "He better get some answers soon or he won't have to worry about my well-being any longer, because then I'm swimming with the fish."

_tbc_


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thank you for your reviews. I hope you all had a good start into the new year. So Horatio seems to miss his team, but can't change the situation he is in now. He had no idea though that the game he's playing, will get a lot more dangerous thanks to his boss. Let's see what happens. Also I'd like to point out that we're nearing the M-sections in this story. Nothing explicit, but mature language and behaviour. Please let me know what you think. **

**Chapter 5**

A few weeks later, Horatio was leaning against a wall and observed the commotion that was going around him. The "family" was celebrating. Yesterday they had successfully ambushed the drug transport and now their property was where it belonged – with them. Of course Gonzalvez had chosen this event to throw a little party and if Horatio wasn't mistaken then most of the guys were already taking advantage of the new load of drugs. Sighing to himself he tried to stay out of view and linger in the shadows for as long as possible.

Frank's and his plan had worked out quite well. Thankfully the Chief had agreed to the ambush and had given Horatio more or less free reign. Of course he now expected some news about newly created drugs and it was Horatio who had to deliver them. _"Of course, what else? If I'm not in debt with Gonzalvez, I'm in debt with the Chief,"_ H thought bitterly. _"It's like serving two masters and while one will just kill me if I make a mistake, the other will cast me aside like some worn out shoe. I don't know what's worse…"_ Probably the latter, since the former was at least a quick doing.

"Hey Julian!" he heard someone calling his name and Horatio just rolled his eyes. _"So much for a quiet night…"_ he thought and pushed himself away from his spot. "Sir," he greeted Gonzalvez politely and tried not to pull a face when he looked at the prostitute in his boss's lab. This was nothing new to him, in fact, most of the ladies here tonight were prostitutes and the guys were certainly taking advantage of the fact that they were there. That's at least what his eyes were telling him, not to forget his ears.

"Sit, sit Julian," Antonio pointed at the seat next to his. "You're always so stiff, you need to let go a bit."

"Erm…yeah..," Horatio agreed and the moment he had sat down, some sparsely dressed woman had climbed onto his lab. _"Wonderful, just wonderful…"_

"We have to celebrate today, thanks to you," Antonio grinned and handed him a glass with some unknown liquid. "Take it and relax," he said and rolled his eyes when he saw Horatio's wary look. "It's not laced, not much anyway," he chuckled. "I need your wits on alert, because we have to talk."

"_Urgh, what does he want now?"_ Horatio growled and barely sipped on his drink. He had no idea what it was, but it definitely wasn't his normal drink. "Talk about what?" he asked and let "his" prostitute have a sip. This way the glass would soon be empty and she might stop nibbling on his neck for at least a moment.

"Yesterday, of course," Antonio stated and shook his head at Horatio's antics. Well if he wanted the girl to be relaxed, then it didn't concern him. _"Evans the old bastard seems to have some interesting plans with this girl tonight. Can't blame him.."_

"Okay? What about it? I thought that everything worked out just fine?" Horatio asked confused and grabbed a curious hand that had started to work on his fly. "Stop that and drink!" he growled lowly.

The girl just gave him a seductive wink and started to play with his hair.

Inside, Horatio just groaned in frustration. Maybe giving her the drink hadn't been such a good idea at all. "We got all the drugs back, didn't we?" he tried to concentrate on the main issue again.

"Yes, but it didn't work out like it was supposed to."

"Oh? I'm not sure if I can follow you, Boss."

"They arrested Lucio," Antonio exclaimed as it was the most obvious thing. "They not only arrested him, they also shot him. Those blasted pricks. They had the impudence to shoot at one of my guys!"

Ah so this was it all about. Lucio. Antonio's favourite pet so to say. Horatio had no idea why Antonio thought the world of Lucio, because Horatio had the impression that he was neither smart nor really efficient, but he had never asked and didn't intend doing so. "Yes I've heard about that, I'm sorry Boos. I really thought that the cops knew better than that."

"We were gracious and didn't kill any of them and they just shoot at us. I want revenge. They have to learn that I take no nonsense when it comes to my men."

"Of course, Boss," Horatio agreed enthusiastically. _"He's really quite of his mind.. I mean...seriously…Gracious?"_

"And you will be the avenger!"

"_I will be WHAT? Do I look like Robin Hood or something?"_ "Uhm..me? I don't think that I can get him out of prison, Sir." And he certainly wouldn't bake a cake with a file inside. _"Might be funny though."_

"My lawyers will do that," Antonio waved him off. "No, we're taking revenge of a different kind. They took one of us; we will take one of them. And I know just the person who will pay for this crime."

"And who might that be?" Horatio asked and tried to keep up with Antonio's twisted thoughts.

"This one here," he pulled out a photo. "That's the person."

"And you picked out this one, because…?" he wanted to know and reached for the photo.

"She has shot Lucio."

"_She?"_ Confused Horatio took a look and almost had a heart attack. "Damn…," he mumbled to himself, but Antonio heard him anyway.

"What?"

He quickly thought of a reply. "Well, I can't believe that the cops use...women to shoot people, I mean.. that's cowardly, don't you think?"

"I don't care," Antonio shrugged. "She's going to pay for her actions and you will be the one to make her pay."

"I see," Horatio nodded and handed the photo back. "May I make a request?"

"You can ask, but I might not give you permission."

"Well.. I think since the coup was mine and now I'm going to kidnap her.. I would like to request a small…reward."

"A reward? Do you think you deserve one?" Antonio asked suspiciously.

"Well you told me to relax a bit and let go...and I just know the perfect way of doing so," Horatio grinned wickedly.

"Really? I'm all ears…"

Natalia was humming softly to the beat in her ears. After a long day at work, she always needed something to relax and a little run always worked for her. This way she could let go of all the horrible scenes she had seen during the day and afterwards enjoy a nice, long shower. Seeing the elderly lady from across the street, she waved and turned into her driveway. Yes, a cold drink and a hot shower afterwards sounded like heaven for sure.

"So come on," she sang along the song she was listening to and searched for her keys. "Now where are you?" she mumbled and with a triumphant "Aha!" she pulled them out of her pockets. "I knew you were somewhere," she talked to the object. "No need to be so shy," she continued her monolog, completely unaware of the fact that she wasn't alone any longer.

"Shower here I co-" A sudden pain rushed through her when her forehead collided with her door. "AAH" she tried to scream, but a large hand was covering her mouth. Struggling she tried to get rid of the strong hands and after realizing that this didn't work, she did the only other thing – she bit.

"You stupid bitch," the man growled and rammed her against the door again.

"What's wrong?" another voice asked.

"The stupid bitch bit me," the first one exclaimed. "What are you waiting for?"

"I'm here, cool down a bit," the other grinned and pressed a cloth against the struggling woman's face.

"I'll let her bite your balls and then we can talk," the other hissed. "Give me the cord."

"Sissy," the second snorted, but did as he was told. "See, this was easy."

"I probably need some anti-rabies inoculation. See? I'm bleeding. Stupid bitch."

"Oh stop it and get her in the car. I'll pin the message right here, let's see if those cops are really so brilliant like everyone is thinking.."

"They probably won't even realize she's missing," his companion laughed and picked the unconscious woman up in his arms. "He's waiting...we better get going.."

"Yep, or neither of us will have any balls in the future…"

Her head was hurting terribly. For one, there was a stinging pain on her forehead and then there was also this dull pain spreading all throughout her body and making her nauseous. She only knew one thing that would cause such symptoms. Chloroform. _"How old fashioned…,"_ Natalia thought and tried to open her eyes. Well she did open her eyes, but she couldn't see. _"Oh God I can't see!"_ she tried to say, but all that came out was a gasp.

"Ah.. I see that you decided to awake from your beauty sleep," a dark voice was whispering behind her. "How kind of you…"

Natalia had never heard this voice before, but this didn't ease her mind at all. No, it made it even worse. "Who are you? Where am I?" she asked and felt like her mouth was made of cotton.

"So curious," the voice drawled and was now even closer than before. Natalia could actually feel the other person's breath on her neck. "Hmmm, since I'm a man of many talents and good manners," his teeth skimmed the shell of her ear, "I think I can answer at least one of your questions."

Natalia felt the man move around her and she tried to get rid of the blindfold, but couldn't. Her hands were tied to armrests, or at least it felt like that.

Smiling, he stood in front of her and just enjoyed the different emotions that were running through her. "May I introduce myself?" he started and reached for the blindfold. He quickly undid it and took a step back.

Natalia blinked rapidly to adjust to the bright light. When she was finally able to see and her eyes fell on the figure in front of her, she gasped again.

"Julian Evans at your service," he smirked maliciously and bowed his head in fake politeness.

"You," Natalia gasped.

"Yes, me. And no, you don't have to introduce yourself. I already know enough about you….Natalia…," he drawled. "Former FBI agent….current DNA specialist in the crime lab..mhmmm," he licked his lips, "loves to run after hours, oh..and let's not forget, enjoys shooting people."

Natalia could only stare at him. She had only seen him on pictures, he was like a phantom. They knew that he was real, but it was impossible to catch him. And now here she was. Alone. Alone with this….man. Well if she could actually call him a man. He was a sadist. Yes, a sadist. And a rapist. Well, they didn't have any evidence, but there were enough rumours floating around and everyone knew that every rumour had some truth in it.

"Speechless, hmmm? Interesting."

"Let me go."

"Nah," he shook his head easily. "I don't think that I want to do that."

"I'm a cop, they will look for me and they'll find me," she said determinedly.

"Oh really?" he drawled. "You don't even know where you are, how do you think your," he snorted at that thought, "friends will find you? No, no…I intend to keep you."

"You're making a big mistake. A big mistake."

"I don't think so," he shrugged nonchalantly and came a little closer. His eyes roamed over her body and he licked his lips provocatively. "Anyone ever told you that you're quite the beauty?" he asked and smirked when she averted her eyes. "Really beautiful..mhmm."

"You're a sick bastard," she spat.

"On the contrary, I'm in perfect health and my parents were happily married," he countered her insults easily. "In contrast to you though, you have put up quite a fight, huh? A little wildcat? Good I like that."

Natalia just huffed and refrained from a comment.

Horatio just chuckled lowly. "Excuse me for a moment," he turned away from her. Before he left the room he couldn't help but taunt her. "And please, do stay seated."

"Bastard," Natalia mumbled and the moment he left her alone, she tried to get her hands free. "This can't be happening. Damn it," she hissed when the bonds didn't budge.

"Stop that, it will only exhaust you and I have many plans for you," his voice filled the room again and Natalia couldn't help but jump in her seat. This man was stealthy.

"What are you doing?" she eyed the tube in his hand suspiciously.

"Showing my manners, what else?" he laughed and growled when she jerked her head away. "Stop fidgeting, stupid woman." In one swift move he had grabbed her chin and jerked her head back to him again. "I told them to treat you nicely, I don't like it when my women get damaged," he said and applied some cooling salve on her forehead.

"I'm not your woman," Natalia hissed.

"Oh but you are. You are here, in my chambers and at my mercy. This makes you mine," he pointed out.

"And what does that mean? That you'll kill me? Beat me? Rape me?"

"Not necessarily in this order," he grinned, "but I'm open for suggestions." He applied a bit more salve on her cheek as well, before he walked to his desk and rummaged in one of the drawers.

This man was mad. Utterly mad. First he kidnapped her, then he patched her up and now he was talking about killing her. "What, what are you doing?" she asked warily, when she noticed the object in his hand.

"That's a surprise," he smiled and played with the knife. "Let's see if I have an epiphany." He walked back to her and leaned down, so they were face to face. "This," he held up the knife between their faces, "is very sharp. So sharp that you won't even realize that you're already dead. So be nice to me."

Natalia swallowed thickly. "You're mad," she whispered. And he probably was. His eyes were black and she couldn't see the slightest light of humanity in them. They seemed to be completely dead.

"Maybe," he agreed and with two swift movements, he capped the cords around her wrists. As if he had expected her trying to escape, he brutally pressed her wrist against the armrests with his hands, which made Natalia cry out loud. "Stupid chit," he hissed into her face. "Don't try that again or you will be sorry." Then he put even more pressure onto her wrists to underline his thread. "Understood?"

Natalia couldn't help herself and nodded. She just wanted this to be over. It hurt so much. "Yes, yes," she cried.

"Very good," he said satisfied and nibbled her chin. When Natalia jerked her head away he chuckled dangerously. "Don't worry," he purred, "you'll soon learn to enjoy my touch."

If Natalia had felt nauseous before, it was even worse now. "Let go of me," she whispered hoarsely.

"Oh I will. Listen to me and listen closely. You'll go and freshen yourself up. Afterwards you'll change into something more," he eyed her attire, "adequately. Don't worry, you have enough clothes…though I'm not sure if you'll need it at all…ah..but I'm going ahead myself. There are clothes waiting for you on my bed. You have 10 minutes and then you'll be waiting in bed for me, got it? And now move," he let go of her and hauled her up. "Be happy that I don't enjoy bedding bruised women, but don't believe for a second that I won't change my mind."

Just wanting to get away from him, Natalia almost ran to the door where she assumed to be the bathroom. It wasn't the bathroom though, it was the bedroom. "Oh God," she moaned quietly, when she saw her nightclothes. It was a skinny, short dress and Natalia wasn't sure if this wasn't worse then being completely naked.

Scanning the room a bit more, she noticed another door and concluded that this might be the bathroom, so she opened the door. "Jackpot." It was the bathroom and what a bath it was. Black marble everywhere. A spacious shower and a big tub. She could only shiver when her thoughts drifted to what Evans had probably already done in this thing. "Sick, this is sick," she whispered to herself and concentrated on the sink. "Get a grip on yourself Natalia. Panic won't help you," she tried to calm herself and splashed some cold water into her face. "The others will find you."

Without thinking she reached for the cabinet and tried to open the door. It didn't work. Frustrated she tried the other one and surprised even herself when it opened. Seeing the things inside, she just wanted to shut the thing again. Everything she liked was inside, from her favourite bubble bath, to her favourite conditioner. Heck there was even the perfume Horatio had given to her for her birthday. "They must have been in my apartment. Oh my god they were there..," she mumbled frantically.

Unbeknownst to Natalia, Horatio wasn't feeling all that better. The moment she had left, he had slumped into the empty chair and closed his eyes. He had done his best in order to scare Natalia so much that she wouldn't even think of comparing Julian Evans to Horatio Caine. She couldn't find out about his true identity. This was too risky for both of them. She needed to fear him. She needed to hate him. Him. Julian Evans. Her kidnapper.

But at what cost? What about later when the truth came out?

No, he wouldn't let the truth come out. No one would ever know that he was Julian Evans. No one except of the Chief, Frank and….himself.

And himself…yes, well, this was certainly the hardest part.

"You can do this old man," he pushed himself. "It will be a fine line but you can do this. It's risky, but fear is better than being dead." He quickly filled a glass and gulped the liquid in one swift move, before he stood up again and walked to his bedroom.

Fear was better than being dead. He only hoped that he was correct about this.

_tbc_


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews. And hello to my new anonymous reader Arlene!**

**So let's see how the team will react and if they find out who might have captured Natalia. Enjoy. **

**Chapter 6**

"I can't believe this is happening," Eric exclaimed and ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

"It seems so unreal," Calleigh nodded and stared at the items in front of them on the table. "There haven't been any threats. I know that Nat would have told us."

"Yeah, she was quite happy yesterday when shift ended and told me that she'd go on a run and then have a relaxing evening," Ryan chimed in and bit his lip.

"We..we have to treat this like every other case," Calleigh said and lifted her hand before they boys could voice their opinions. "Listen to me, before you start protesting. We can't let our emotions rule over our minds. She's our friend, she belongs to us, but we have to focus on the things on hand. Okay? We need to go through the evidence we already have and definitely have to go back again to her apartment."

Eric just lowered his head. "I wish H would be here. When I talked about the test a few weeks back, I didn't think that our test would involve the life of one of our own."

The others agreed silently. H would know what to do. He would stay focused and keep them in the line and on the track. They had done their best so far, but now, with Natalia missing, their resolve started to crumble dangerously.

"The only evidence we have so far, is that she went on her running trip, because her neighbour told the officers on the scene that she saw her. And we know that she was ambushed outside, since her door was closed and there weren't any signs for an attack inside," Ryan summed up.

"Right," Eric nodded and was about to continue, when the door opened and Frank stepped in.

"I just heard about Nat. Do you know what happened? Did the kidnappers already called?"

Eric shook his head. "No to all things above. We only know that she was kidnapped yesterday afternoon. We haven't heard from anyone yet." He wasn't sure if this was a good or a bad thing. He hoped for the former.

"Damn," Frank mumbled. "Nothing? No message at all? Have there been threats?"

"No, no threats," Calleigh shook her head. "But yes, we have something like a message, at least we believe it's from her kidnapper."

"Show me."

"Here you go," she pushed a copy of the message towards him. "The original is being analysed at the moment."

"'One of us. One of you. Eye for an Eye.' Now that's what I call a cryptic message," he furrowed his brows.

"Yeah, we assume that this is revenge. For what? We don't know," Ryan explained.

"Definitely revenge," Frank agreed. "How many cases did you solve in the last few weeks or months?"

"Too many Frank, too many. You know as well as I do that Miami is a busy city," Calleigh sighed.

"It could be anyone," Eric shrugged.

"Well," Ryan reached for the note again, "not anyone."

"Please explain."

"There is the word 'us'. Us means at least two people, probably a group. I mean.. if some lover or relative would write such a note, they would use words like 'you took him/her from me', right? Not us."

"Interesting…yes, you could be right."

"Okay," Frank looked at the others. "Then we just have to find out all the cases Natalia worked on that involved a group. Maybe a gang or something."

"There aren't many, Frank. Gangs' activities have been quite low after the ambush a few weeks ago. Seems like they're all high on drugs."

"The ambush!" Calleigh cried out and ignored the looks she was receiving. "Natalia shot one of the perps and he's in custody, right now."

"One of the Serpens?" Frank interrupted her.

"Yes, yes," Cal nodded quickly.

"That would certainly make sense," Ryan agreed.

"Okay Calleigh, you and Ryan will go back to Natalia's apartment and look for more evidence. I'll visit a certain Serpent in his cell and will try to find something out," Eric instructed his team. Finally they had a lead. Now they just needed to follow it and hopefully this would help them to find Natalia.

"I will join you as soon as I can, but I need to check on a few things first," Frank said and just waited for the others' agreement, before he quickly left the room and pulled out his cell. If Calleigh was right and this was the work of the Serpens, then he needed to have a talk with a certain black-headed serpent. He rarely used his cell to contact Horatio, because normally it was Horatio who contacted him, but this was important. If the Serpens had her, then she was in great danger and Frank could never live with himself knowing that he hadn't done everything in his power to safe her. Time, he knew, was definitely working against them.

DGDGDGDG

Horatio was quite bugged. He had barely slept the night and in the morning he had had a meeting with Antonio, who had been quite demanding in finding out what Horatio had done to his 'reward'. The lack of sleep had been painfully obvious on Horatio's face (dark circles and a rather ruffled appearance had been quite a good hint) and so Antonio had wanted to know almost every detail of how Horatio had spent his night.

Being the sly dog that Horatio or rather Julian Evans was, he had made up a story without going into too much detail. This was 'private' after all. He had ended his story-telling with a sarcastic comment ("Didn't you hear her screaming?") which had made Antonio laugh and satisfied with Julian's explanation.

And now, instead of sitting in the garden and having a nice cold drink…or preventing Natalia from trying to flee (whatever came first), he was sitting in the midday heat in a god forsaken place and waited for Frank to arrive. "This day can only get better," he mumbled and reached for a cigarette. "Or worse, knowing my luck."

He lit his cigarette and took a deep pull. "Five more minutes and I'm leaving. I certainly won't look like a boiled lobster, because Frank is too late for his own appointed meeting." He certainly had better things to do.

He leaned against the hood casually and closed his eyes. _"Okay, so what's on the agenda today? Hmm, making Natalia love me," _he chuckled darkly, _"well this is going to be easy. She had as much sleep as I did last night. Then I have to make sure that she understands her boundaries. Ah, and not to forget to give out the message that she's mine and mine alone."_ This was definitely important. Everyone knew that he had kidnapped her, but it wouldn't hurt to reaffirm that he was the only one allowed to touch her. _"I already stored away everything important. She can't hurt herself..or me..mhm…well we'll see,"_ he continued his thoughts and blinked lazily when he heard a car approaching. "About time..," he grumbled and didn't even make an effort to approach his friend. Yes, he certainly was in a good mood.

Well Horatio wasn't the only one in a bad mood; Frank was not feeling any better. For now, they hadn't made any progress in Natalia's case and even though he wouldn't call Horatio their last chance, he knew that Horatio had the ability to help them a lot. Realizing that Horatio wouldn't come to him, Frank stepped out of his car and walked to his friend. He made sure that the monkeys weren't around, so they could talk openly. "Where is she?"

Horatio took another pull and raised an eyebrow. "In contrast to what everyone believes, I'm not a mind-reader, Francis," he replied easily.

"You know exactly who I'm talking about, Horatio," Frank hissed. He didn't have the time for playing foolish games.

"Are you talking to me?" Horatio asked and looked around. "Oh you must, because we're alone. Still I don't know what you want."

Frank gritted his teeth. "Natalia," he brought out. "She was kidnapped yesterday."

"Okay…"

"Okay? Don't start with this stupid crap again."

"I didn't start anything. You asked me for a meeting and I still don't know why. Just spit it out and we can talk about it, or I'm leaving."

It took quite a while before Frank would lose his temper, but Horatio was on a very good way of succeeding. "Natalia was kidnapped by the Serpens. Where is she?"

Horatio's face became stoic. "Who says it was us?"

Not this 'us' thing again. Frank really hated it when Horatio identified himself with these low-lives. "They left a message and we're pretty sure it was them."

"Aha, you're _pretty_ sure, but you don't _know_," Horatio pointed out. He was actually quite curious as to why they believed it was them and so he asked. "What makes you say that?"

Frank gave him the detailed answer about what made them believe that Natalia had been kidnapped by the Serpens.

"Interesting," Horatio commented and was actually quite proud of his team. They had certainly come a long way and were the bests in their field. It didn't make it easier for him of course, but he still was pleased with them. "Let's pretend for a minute that you're correct, what makes you think that I know where she is?" After all he didn't know _exactly_ where she was at this very moment. She was in his chambers, yes, but she could be in the bathroom, living-room…

"You're Gonzalvez right man, if there's someone who knows, then it's obviously you," Frank pointed out and couldn't understand how Horatio could be so indifferent about the whole subject.

"And there's the error, Francis. I may be his right man, but he doesn't tell me everything. If your assumptions are correct and Antonio has arranged her kidnapping, then…" he trailed off.

"Then what?" Frank asked impatiently.

"I fear that she might already be dead," Horatio dropped the bomb.

Frank just stared at him in shock. "No, no this can't be! You're lying," he accused and grabbed Horatio's collar.

Horatio grimaced and tried to push the bigger man away, but Frank still had a few more pounds than he did. "I'm not lying, only stating a well-known fact. Why do people kidnap other people? Three things," he hissed. "Blackmail, information or revenge. Did you receive a blackmailing letter?" he asked and when Frank didn't answer him, he smirked. "You didn't huh? So this is out of question. This leads me to option number two: information. Tell me Frank, what happens after a kidnapper gets the information they need? They kill the informant. And option number three? They kill immediately. Do you see the pattern?"

"You asshole," Frank spat. "She's your friend, your family and you're talking about her like she's some object."

Frank couldn't be more wrong. Horatio had saved Natalia and with that endangered his own life. Antonio would have abused and killed her afterwards. Now she was at least safe. She lived in fear, but she was alive. "Believe whatever you wish, Frank, but I can't tell you anything."

"She isn't dead." She had to be alive. "You need to help us, help her."

"And what do you want me to do? Go to Antonio and ask him if he's hiding a CSI in his rooms?" Horatio snorted and grasped Frank's hands. "Let go of me."

Frank just shoved him against the car and glared at him. "You have connections, don't deny it. You can find out where she is."

"Frank," he laughed mirthlessly, "Of course I can keep my ears and eyes open. That's easy, but what then? I can hardly sneak her out. Believe it or not, Antonio is a clever guy and he _will_ notice that she's disappeared. This is a no win situation."

"Bastard."

What was it with people calling him that? Did he have a neon sign over his head, or what? "Whatever Frank," Horatio adjusted his shirt again. "Don't get your hopes too high. If Antonio has her on his mercy, death will be welcomed. I know what I'm talking about, believe me."

Frank took a step away, to give Horatio some room. "So that's it? That's all what you're going to do? Sit back, have a nice drink and plan your next transport?"

"Yes Francis," Horatio drawled. "That's exactly what I'm going to do. And now excuse me," he opened the door. "If I have any news, you'll be the first to know, but I don't believe there will be any." With that he slid into his car, started the engine. He had had enough of this conversation.

Speechless, Frank looked at the quickly fading car. This was not how he had imagined this conversation to turn out. Had he been too naïve? Too naïve in believing that Horatio still cared? Too naïve that there still was Horatio Caine and not his alter ego Julian Evans? Frank wasn't sure. He didn't know what to believe any longer.

What if Horatio had been swayed completely by the other side? Sometimes, in fun, he had thought that they could call themselves lucky that Horatio was a cop and not a criminal. He had a brilliant mind after all and knew how to use it. So what if… He couldn't continue this line of thoughts. This thought alone scared him. It scared him shitless.

DGDGDGDG

When Horatio approached the doors to his rooms, he could already hear their voices. As much as his meeting with Frank had riled him up, he couldn't help but chuckle lowly, when he heard Rosa's motherly tone and Natalia's indignant reply. Schooling his features, he unlocked the door and stepped inside. "And what do we have here?"

"Ah, señor Julian," Rosa exclaimed, happy to see him. "Tell her, tell her," she gushed in her broken English, "Señora won't eat."

Horatio's gaze went from the cook to his guest. Natalia was sitting at the couch table, with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not hungry," she huffed.

Inside he was laughing, but outside he just gave her a hard look. "I really don't care. You have to eat," he told her and was immediately supported by Rosa.

"Yes, eat, eat," the small woman nodded eagerly.

"I will see to it, Rosa, don't worry," Horatio smiled at her. He knew that he was in Rosa's good books, because he treated her kindly and appreciated her meals. "Would you be so nice and get something for me as well?"

"Of course, señor Julian. Rosa didn't know you coming for lunch," she apologized, but Horatio didn't want to hear any of it.

"That's fine, don't worry," he reassured her. "I'm looking forward to it," he dismissed her with a smile, which he lost the moment she disappeared. "Eat your meal," he growled at Natalia and walked to his desk.

"You can't make me," Natalia replied.

"Oh, I can and I will if you don't stop behaving like this," he replied and reached for a pillbox.

"Ah not even 12 o'clock and you already need your drugs, huh?" she quipped without thinking.

"Watch your mouth," he snapped at her and swallowed the pill dry. His headache was busy turning into a migraine and that was the last thing he needed. For a moment he closed his eyes and when he opened them again, he noticed that she still hadn't touched her food. "Are you daft woman? Eat!"

"Why should I? Why pampering me at all, if you will kill me anyway?"

Horatio gave her a dry laugh. "Because I'm not a necrophiliac and I hate it when the woman in my bed breaks when I get a little rough. Does that answer your question?"

Natalia opened her mouth, but was interrupted when Rosa came back again.

"Your lunch, señor Julian," she smiled, which turned sad when she saw Natalia's untouched food.

"Thank you, Rosa. Please leave us alone. I'm sure Natalia will soon enjoy our lunch date," he said and gave Natalia a sickening smile.

Natalia quickly looked away. Of course she was hungry. She hadn't eaten since yesterday lunch and her whole body hurt. The fact that she hadn't slept a wink last night did the rest and she was clearly exhausted. Every time she had felt him move last night, panic had set in. Would he make his threats become real? Beat her? Rape her? Just thinking about it made her sick.

She had used her time alone and had tried to escape, but she had soon found out that her prison was like Alcatraz. The windows and doors were dead-locked and there had been nothing in his rooms to help her open them. The only things she could open were actually her wardrobe, the small cabinet in the bathroom and the small bar which held his drinks.

She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't notice Rosa's leaving. She snapped out of them though, when she heard the door fall shut. Blinking, she turned her attention back to Julian, who was already happily enjoying his meal. She envied him. "You're going to poison me," she stated and nodded towards her meal.

Horatio swallowed slowly and took a sip of water, before he replied calmly. "And where would be the sense in that? I kidnap you and then I poison you? Nice logic," he taunted her.

Well it did make sense, but this was not enough for her. "So why are you so demanding?"

"I already told you, I want you healthy," he replied and continued eating. He reached for a file and opened it.

"_My, he has the arrogance to actually plan his newest drug-thing in my presence,"_ she thought. _"He's either stupid or very confident that I will never be able to tell anyone. Why do I have the suspicion that it's the latter?"_ "You're concerned about my health?" she asked unbelievingly.

"It's purely selfish, don't worry," he drawled without looking up.

"_That nerve,"_ she seethed inside, but couldn't ignore her hunger any longer. She took the first bite carefully, trying to find out if something was off with it, but the moment the food touched her tongue, instincts took over and she practically shovelled the food inside.

Amused, Horatio watched her for a while. How a little hunger could change people. "I might try some of our products on you though."

_tbc_


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: thank you all for your comments. I see that some of you are still unsure about Horatio/Julian in regards to his behaviour and how much of it is all an act. I fear that this won't change much after this chapter. This chapter is rather m-ish. Nothing too explicit, obviously, but still rather not for young people. I hope you enjoy it anyway (or maybe because of that LOL). Let the show begin. **

**Chapter 7**

"You better don't have anything planned for tonight, Julian," Antonio said after the two had finished their daily meeting.

"Uhm, I don't think so," Horatio answered and organized the papers in front of him. "Why?" he looked up for a moment, before he continued his work.

"It's club night tonight and I have a surprise for you."

Surprise and Antonio Gonzalvez were never a good combination. "A surprise?" he wondered out loud. "Am I right in assuming that you won't tell me what kind of surprise it will be?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.

Antonio just grinned. "Nope."

"I see." This would have been too easy anyway. "Should I take my reward with me?"

"Ha, no, I need your whole attention," Antonio laughed. "But speaking of her, haven't you tired of her yet?"

"No," Horatio shook his head. "There are still a lot of things on my mind for her, if you know what I mean," he grinned slyly.

"Oh I can imagine, my friend, I certainly can imagine. But let me tell you that if you tire of her, I'm sure some others would like to have some fun."

"Well then they'll be disappointed. No one touches what is mine, not even when I tire of her," Horatio growled lowly. "I don't share. No, no once I'm finished with her, she won't be useful for anything, believe me."

"I like your way of thinking," Antonio chuckled. "Maybe you'll get some ideas tonight for her," he suggested.

"Maybe I will," Horatio nodded. "Was there something else? Because if not I'm going to talk to Miguel…"

"Do that and be on time," Antonio dismissed him.

"I will," Horatio bowed his head and then left the office. He had no idea why there was a club party tonight and why it was essential for him to attend, but there was no need to think too much about it. It would only cause a headache and no answers anyway. "Club party, hm?" he mumbled to himself. "Could be interesting, very interesting…"

DGDGDGDG

Three weeks. It had already been three weeks that she was captivated here and she had no idea how long it would take the others to find her. Julian had been right, how could they find her if she didn't even know where she was? They had tried to find out where Julian resided, but had never found out. And now? She was in this place but was none the wiser.

Natalia sighed and picked at her dinner. Julian had been away the whole day. Not that she cared, but he barely left her alone for a whole day. Being captured was getting on her, she could feel it. She felt like living in a golden cage. There was so much wealth around her. Alone his furniture had to cost more than she'd make in a year. Not to forget the beautiful bathroom. It was like being in a palace, but one that you couldn't leave.

Not that she hadn't tried. Oh she had, several times that is, but to no avail. Julian Evans was a sneaky bastard and at least always one step ahead of her. After a week she had resigned herself to stop trying and just wait things out. She had started to eat her meals, not because he wanted her to, but because she wanted to stay healthy in case she got a chance of escaping. Starving herself to death wouldn't help her at all in the end and so she had tried to enjoy her meals. Well as far as she could enjoy a meal in Evans's presence that is.

The man confused her. Greatly. He could be an utter bastard to her. Always making remarks on what sinister things he could do to her and yet he hadn't done anything. And this made her wonder if he would ever act on his threats. She really couldn't say if her life depended on it.

And then, she saw him the way he was acting around Rosa. He was actually quite sweet with her, well-mannered and polite. No wonder that Rosa had a special place in her heart for him. Those weren't Natalia's words of course, but Rosa's when Natalia had asked her about Evans.

Not that Natalia could blame her. If one only saw this side of him, one was easily inclined to like him. Damn, if she was honest to herself, she could easily like him as well. If it weren't for the fact that he was a sadist, murderer, drug lord and whatever else he was famous for. Maybe a comparison to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide would fit. Yes, he certainly had his good and bad moments. In a good moment he actually reminded her of Horatio.

"Horatio," she sighed. If only he was here. She was sure that he would do anything to get her out of this place. She knew that the others were also doing their best, but most of the time, it was Horatio who had the epiphany of how to crack a case.

"Life is unfair," she mumbled and took another bite of her meal. She really wasn't hungry today, this morning had spoiled her appetite completely. Every morning until today, she had woken up to an empty bed. This really was normal for her. They barely went to sleep the same time, he was always working on something when she called it a night, and he was always already up by the time she would awake. For a man who barely slept four or five hours a night, he was certainly in a good shape and Natalia could only wonder how he did that.

But she was digressing.

This morning had been different and she still felt a shiver just thinking about it. When she had woken up, being in the state when you were neither awake nor asleep, she had realized that she couldn't move, but was wrapped in strong arms holding her. Out of reflex, she had snuggled into the warm body behind her, only to realize a split second afterwards that this wasn't a nice dream or fantasy, but harsh reality. The moment her sleepy mind had proceeded that thought, she'd heard a moan behind her and she had frozen up immediately. This wasn't some nice guy sharing the bed with her, but her capturer, the man who was always threatening of raping her. And she was snuggling with him!

At this moment she had felt utterly disgusted with herself. How could she even enjoy being in his arms? This was all so wrong, even if it was a normal reaction. And hearing him moan? She had wanted to puke right away back then. Just imagining what he might be dreaming was still giving her the creeps. No, this really hadn't been a good start into the morning and she was actually quite happy that she hadn't seen him for the whole day.

"Sorry Rosa, but I'm just not hungry today," she said to herself and pushed the tray away. She needed distraction, but this was easier said than done. She scanned the room with her eyes and her gaze fell onto a small bookshelf. "Well let's see what Mr. Evans is into," she said and made her way towards it.

If she'd been surprised about him before, she was utterly amazed by him right now. There were classics, like Shakespeare, modern fiction and even some scientific books. "No wonder that we have a hard time catching him. And what have we here? Oh? I haven't pictured him to like Boyd," she said when she noticed the book. She had loved the novel and had given it to Horatio as a present before he had disappeared. "Interesting..," she reached for the book and sat down on the couch again. Maybe her favourite novel would blow the cobwebs away.

DGDGDGDG

It was almost nine when Horatio finally came back and he was certainly not looking forward to a long night in a club. "The surprise better be a good surprise," he mumbled and locked up the door to his rooms. When he found an empty sitting room, his mood got even darker. "Where is she now?" he growled and called her name.

Natalia was having a nice bubble bath. After reading for a while, she had decided that she would treat herself to a nice relaxing bath and forget for a while that this wasn't a vacation but a kidnapping. The imagination popped like a bubble though, when she heard his voice. "Damn this man," she mumbled annoyed and was just about to get out of the tub, when the bathroom door opened.

"There you are," Horatio said and couldn't help but stare at her wet body.

"Damn you," Natalia shrieked. "Get out!"

Horatio blinked rapidly and quickly schooled his features. Personally, he was quite embarrassed at seeing her like this, but Julian wouldn't be. "Why should I?" he drawled and leaned against the doorframe. "Such a nice view."

Natalia just wanted to roll her eyes. "Did you want something?"

"Except of you?" his gaze trailed down to where the water was hiding her private parts. "Yes. I actually wanted to shower and tell you that I'm out tonight."

"How thoughtful of you," she replied and blindly reached for a towel.

"Indeed," he nodded and neither averted his eyes nor moved an inch. "So you wouldn't wait for me, longing for my presence."

"As this could ever happen," she mumbled under her breath and did her best to get out of the tub without showing him too much of her body. "Enjoying the show?"

"Oh absolutely," he nodded. "Too bad that I don't have time for more. This could have been quite interesting."

"Whatever," she snapped and pushed past him when she left the bathroom. She needed some clothes. Now.

Horatio just smirked and grabbed some clothes as well before he disappeared into the bathroom again.

"Pervert," Natalia rambled and quickly dried herself of and slipped into the modest piece of clothing she could find. She didn't want to give him any ideas. "So I'm alone tonight, yes, well maybe I can use this extra time," she grinned to herself.

For some time now she had worked on a plan on how to get out of here, but until now, the perfect situation hadn't occurred. Maybe tonight it would.

Horatio just had a quick, cold shower and tried his best to erase the pictures of a naked Natalia from his mind. Horatio Caine was ashamed of his behaviour. Natalia deserved better than being ogled. He was her friend, her colleague, hell he was her boss and this was highly inappropriate behaviour. Julian Evans on the other hand, had clearly enjoyed the scene and this didn't make it any better. "What a crappy day," he growled and quickly dressed himself.

When he left the bathroom again, the bedroom was empty. "Good thinking, Nat," he mumbled and went to the sitting-room. "Next time you want to surprise me in the bathroom, please tell me beforehand so I can make sure that we'll have a lot of time," he drawled and was quite amused when he saw her attire.

"But of course, Julian," she replied. "You could do me a favour though."

"Oh really? And what would that be?"

"I have been sleeping pretty badly the last few nights, can you give me another sleeping pill?" she asked him innocently.

"Again? Woman this is the third in as many weeks. And you call me an addict?" he snorted.

"Please?"

Horatio just shook his head. "I don't have time for this." He was already late. "Here," he walked to his desk and pulled out a small orange bottle. "Take one, or two, or whatever, I really don't care right now," he growled and before she could say anything else, he left the rooms.

Natalia hardly believed her luck. This was easier than she had thought. With a smile she reached for the bottle and for the other sleeping pills she had hoarded. Julian Evans would get a nice surprise tonight. Oh yes, Natalia would make sure of it.

DGDGDGDG

"So what do you think of our newest product?" Gonzalvez asked smugly and took a large sip of some expensive brew.

Horatio raised a brow and gave the other man a curious glance. "I'm afraid I can't follow, Sir," he said politely. He had no idea what Gonzalvez was talking about. Yes, earlier this day the man had said something about a surprise, but until now he hadn't noticed anything.

Gonzalvez chuckled lowly. "Yeah, it's quite subtle," he agreed. "See this couple over there?" he pointed to a young woman and equally young man.

"Yeah?" Horatio followed his gaze. "He's quite…"

"Demanding?" Gonzalvez helped out.

"You could say that and the girl looks likes she's going to fall asleep."

"Uh-huh."

Looking at his boss, Horatio couldn't help but ask, "the surprise is GHB?"

"Ha!" Gonzalvez laughed. "You don't have any fantasy, Julian. Yes it is some kind of GHB, but with a nice bonus."

"And that would be?"

Gonzalvez smirked. "They both drank the same drink."

Horatio's eyes went slightly bigger. "But GHB would also effect the guy.."

"But not ours. Oh no," Gonzalvez said proudly, "it's even better. While it has the same effect on the female organism as the ordinary GHB, it works like an aphrodisiac for the male. Isn't that fabulous? No woman would ever believe that the drink she is sharing with a guy is laced with drugs."

Horatio didn't know what to say. Yes, he had a B.A. in chemistry, but he had never heard of any substance that would work so differently on males and females. This new product was the perfect rape drug, especially if the man couldn't stop himself from abusing a woman. Damn, they could even sell them as an aphrodisiac to young boys and promising them a night full of pleasure with an equally turned on girl. Once they had both ingested the drug, the effects would start and the boy wouldn't be able to control his libido any longer. _"Oh shit!"_

"You're so quiet? Don't you believe me?" Gonzalvez asked.

Horatio quickly brought his attention back to the present. "Yes, no, I mean.."

"Here," he shoved some drink into his hand. "Drink and you will see how pleasurable it is for us. Your Reward will thank you, believe me," he smirked coldly and gave Horatio a small package.

Knowing that he couldn't get out of this, Horatio drained the glass and took the package. "Well normally I like them attentive," he tried to play it cool, "But it's definitely worth a try."

"It is, believe me," Gonzalvez smiled and got up from his chair. "And now it's time for some fun."

Horatio took a deep breath and watched him walking away. He could already feel the heat that was spreading through his body. He needed to get away from here, before he would do something very stupid.

DGDGDGDG

Taking a deep breath, Horatio closed the door behind him. He could hardly remember the way back to his rooms, but he had made it. Stumbling he walked to his couch and sat down ungracefully. He was painfully aware of everything around him. He couldn't explain what he was experiencing, but his heart was racing and his whole body screamed for release. Thank God that Natalia was already asleep in their bedroom, he would definitely take the couch tonight.

Natalia had heard him entering and stumbling. Everything was going according to her plan and she knew that this might be a one time opportunity. Looking at her reflection in the mirror she gave herself a confident smile. There was no way that he could ignore her advances tonight. After all she was only wearing one of his shirts and almost no underwear. Yes, Julian Evans was going to meet his end today.

Horatio did his best not to think of anything inappropriate, but to concentrate on how to contact Frank as soon as possible. If this drug would come on the market, the club scene would have a new wave of rapes for sure and this was the last thing that any city needed. "Maybe I use one of the kids again," he mumbled to himself and cringed when he heard a voice behind him.

"You're back again?" Natalia said and walked to the couch. "Didn't you like your party?" she asked sweetly.

This was the very last thing he needed. Seeing her attire he couldn't help but groan and close his eyes. "You're supposed to be asleep," he growled.

"I was so lonely without you," she said and walked to his bar. There she poured him a drink and walked back to him, swaying her hips suggestively the whole time.

Horatio took a deep breath and tried to calm himself and his libido. Damn, did she have to try something like this tonight of all nights?

"Have a drink so you can relax," she drawled and sat down on his lap. "You're always so uptight," she whispered in his ear and trailed tiny kisses down his throat.

Horatio bit his lips so he wouldn't moan. Instead he quickly took a large sip of his whiskey in order to calm himself. Not that the alcohol had any effect, but it was better than doing other things. "You think so?" he rasped, when her lips found a particular sensitive spot.

"Mhm," Natalia murmured and leaned back again. "You are," she said confidently and watched him taking another sip. Not long and she could stop her play. It felt entirely wrong to come this close to this bastard, but she had promised herself to take several baths and showers once she was free again. "You see?" she smiled and let her fingers trail over his chest, which made him tense up. "Relax."

The grip on his glass got more and more forceful. He took another swig and couldn't help but think that something was wrong with the drink. It tasted off, but he couldn't place it. The fact that Natalia was also eying the glass as if to make sure that he would drink everything, made him suspicious as well.

Wriggling a bit in his lap, Natalia came into contact with something very hard. Inside she felt disgusted yet happy: her plan was working perfectly. Only a few more minutes and she'd be out of here.

Horatio moaned when she came into contact with his member. He was so aroused, it almost hurt. He was quite sure that he had never felt this way before and Natalia wasn't making it any easier.

"Mhm..do you want another?" she asked slyly and took his glass away. Another one surely couldn't hurt, not that she cared for his health anyway.

"Are you trying to make me drunk?" Horatio asked slowly while his eyes followed her every movement.

Natalia laughed softly. "No..just relax," she grinned. "I know you love this stuff." She had had three weeks of analysing his habits. She knew what he liked and what not.

"That I do," he grinned and hoped that enough alcohol would make him fall asleep before he would do something he might regret.

Handing him the glass, Natalia kneeled between his legs. "Let's see what we can do for your little problem here," she said and mentally ordered herself to switch to autopilot.

Horatio's eyes widened significantly when he understood what she was about to do. "What are you doing?"

"I'll show you," Natalia drawled and opened his trousers.

"Oh damn," Horatio groaned and swatted her hands away. "You're up to something. You hate me!" he hissed.

Natalia ignored his antics and started to work on his trousers again.

"Answer me!" he spat, his arousal somehow switching into anger. "You did something with my drink!" he exclaimed and when he saw her innocent smile he threw the glass against the wall. "What did you do?"

"You'll see," she smiled confidently.

His eyes were furiously looking around and went to slits when he noticed the little orange bottle he had left there in the evening. "You tried to drug me!"

"Only tried?" she smiled sweetly and stood up. She didn't care if he found out, there was no way that he would be able to do anything once the sleeping pills were working.

"Sleeping pills?" he laughed mirthlessly. "You tried to kill me with my own pills?" Following her example he stood up and grabbed her arm. "You foolish girl. You never took them, right? All those weeks you've been begging for sleeping pills, but you never took them!" he laughed, which made Natalia a bit scared. "Stupid bitch," he growled, "ever heard of the word Placebo? Do you really believe I'd give you real meds?" he said harshly and hauled her towards him.

Natalia's eyes went wide in panic. Placebos? No sleeping pills? She had drugged him with sugar?

"You want some fun? You're going to have some," he spat and pulled her towards the bedroom

"No! Noo," Natalia tried to get away from him, but his grip was strong. "Let me go!"

"NO!" he shouted and pushed her onto the bed. "You think this is fun?" he hissed, his anger taking more and more over. Apparently these drugs didn't only arouse you, but made you more violent as well. "I'll show you some fun," he ripped the shirt apart and gave her a feral look. "Take this!" he pushed a tablet of the drug into her mouth. "Swallow!"

Natalia almost choked on the tablet. "Stop it, stop it," Natalia cried and tried to get away from him, but he was easily overpowering her.

"You want to play with fire? Now you're getting burned!"

_tbc_


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thanks a lot for your reviews everyone. So what did Horatio do? Did he do anything at all? But if he did, what kind of consequences will there be? I promise you'll find out. We're definitely heading towards the end of the story, but don't fret, this chapter isn't. Haha. Please enjoy and tell me what you think. **

**Chapter 8**

The warm water was running over his body, trying to soothe his sore muscles. Like on autopilot Horatio shaved his upper body and arms, so no one would see that his body hair was red instead of black, as it should be. He had no idea how many times he had done this before, but it came with the job. He knew that he had to dye his hair soon again and when he looked at his tattoo, he couldn't help but think that it was starting to fade. Seeing the darkness on his arm was like a second nature and when he thought back to last night, he couldn't help but wonder if he could ever live a normal life again.

What had he done?

Closing his eyes he tried to push those thoughts away, but they were hunting him.

How could he…?

Again and again he saw Natalia beneath him, struggling to break free.

He had…

Again and again he saw himself forcing her to take the new drugs.

Burned…

"Damn it all," he snarled at no one and turned off the water. There was no use thinking about this right now. Julian Evans needed to talk to his boss and tell him about his experiences.

And Horatio Caine? Horatio Caine could only sit back, ashamed of his actions and not knowing what to say.

He dried himself and continued his normal morning routine. Once he had finished it, he walked back into the bedroom and tried to ignore the woman lying between the sheets. He quickly put on some clean clothes and exited the room only to almost walk into one of Gonzalvez minions. "What are you doing here?" he growled dangerously and closed the door behind him.

The man only smiled and tried to sneek a peak at the woman in the other room, but was too slow. "Gonzalvez said that he wanted to talk to you." Looking between the door behind Julian and the man in front of him, he grinned. "You know I have time and I certainly wouldn't mind-"

Horatio grabbed him by the collar. "She's mine," he hissed, "touch her and you will regret it. Understood?" he shoved him away.

"Man, man..," he put his hands up in mock surrender. "It was just a suggestions, she can hardly be that good," he snorted. He didn't need some left over woman, but the other guys have told him that she war rather nice equipped and well…

"Don't even think about it. If I see you again in my rooms, you'll swim with the fish, got it?" Horatio snapped. "Go tell the boss that I'll be there in a few minutes. And now get out!"

"Pff and some thought that you might be in a better mood after having a willing body in your bed," the other snorted and left the room. Evans really was a creepy character.

"Asshole," Horatio mumbled and reached for some files. Once again he would need his best acting skills, so Gonzalvez wouldn't get suspicious. He just hoped that he was up to this challenge.

DGDGDGDG

Horatio's mind was reeling when he walked back to his quarters after his meeting with Gonzalvez. The man had just dropped a small bomb and Horatio was busy forming a plan in his mind. In a week's time there would be some kind of conference where Gonzalvez would meet with other drug lords (or business partners as he liked to call them) and show them his newest addition to the stock. Afterwards he would make deals with them, so that his drug would be sold in other districts as well.

To be honest, Horatio had been quite surprised about this tactic. To his common knowledge as a police officer and normal citizen, he had been of the impression that drug lords saw each other as rivals and enemies. He had had his fare share with turf wars between rivalling groups so imagine his surprise when he had learned that Gonzalvez and his "partners" were a lot more professional than that. This was also a reason why they needed to stop them. Drug dealers were a nuisance, yes, but drug empires that were connected like business partners and drug lords that had no reason to kill of each other, but saw the advantages of working together, was disastrous. And now they had the golden opportunity to catch the whole bunch in one go. If only they did it right.

"_I have to get a message to Frank, we only have a week and this is huge,"_ he thought to himself and fumbled with his keys. _"Let's just hope that the chief will have the right people by his side, or it might end in a disaster for all of us."_

He was completely lost in his thoughts when he stepped into his room and closed the door behind him that he didn't even realize that he wasn't the only one inside.

"YOU!" a voice shrieked and Horatio automatically reached for the gun at his hip. He had completely forgotten about his guest but seeing her standing in front of him with only a bathrobe, last night came back full force and what little color had been in his face drained completely.

"Not now," he mumbled and walked passed her, not holding any eye contact with her.

"You, you," she spluttered, but was interrupted by him.

"Very eloquent," he said snidely, and tried to ignore the queasy feeling in his stomach. He couldn't deal with this now. Probably never.

"Why did you," she started again, determined to get some answers, but yet again, she was interrupted.

"Señor Julian, Rosa brought your breakfast."

Horatio couldn't stop but feel relieved. Bless Rosa and her perfect timing. "Thank you Rosa, please put it on the table, yes?"

"Desde luego, of course señor Julian," she nodded happily and didn't even blink when she noticed Natalia's attire. Instead she just smiled at the woman, completely oblivious of the thick tension in the room.

"If you think that I'm going to eat with-" Natalia started again, but Horatio cut her of.

"Shut up," he said without any real venom in his voice. "Just sit down and eat." He couldn't deal with his own feelings, how should he deal with hers? Suddenly he felt tired, just very tired of all this. Next week couldn't come to soon for sure. At this moment, he didn't even care how it would turn out for him. Maybe he would be cast into prison, maybe not. He had certainly done enough things that screamed for some nice time behind bars. Maybe he would meet some old acquaintances there, wouldn't that be nice? He knew about hundreds of people that would give their right arms to have some time alone with him in prison. Yeah, this sounded really great. He could only snort at his inner musings.

Natalia eyed the man in the room, who was completely lost in thoughts. She hadn't seen him like this before. Actually, he was always aware of what was going on around him, even if it didn't seem so. He had some kind of sixth sense, just like someone else she knew. She sighed to herself and sat down at the table that was holding their breakfast. Questions over questions were swirling in her mind. Last night was quite a blur, at least when it came to the time he had shoved her into bed and given her some kind of drug. She still remembered the rage written all over his face and the way he had manhandled her. And then..

She shook her head and tried to focus on the food in front of her. She didn't feel hungry in particular and who could blame her after last night. Listlessly she reached for a fork and then stopped dead in her tracks. Pancakes? He had ordered pancakes? And not some plain ones. No, these were chocolate pancakes. With fresh banana and strawberries. Not to forget her favourite chocolate syrup. _"Oh my god,"_ her eyes went wide and with a start she got up and stalked to the man who hadn't realized a thing. All the pieces of the puzzle suddenly connected.

"This is my favourite comfort food," she stated and watched him closely.

"Yeah I know," Horatio replied without thinking and blinked.

Natalia hold her breath and took a really close look at him. "How?"

Horatio was on dangerous grounds and he had no idea what to say. Well he had gotten himself in this mess and now he needed to get out of it again. The question was how. "You're a woman, women like chocolate, right?" he snarked. "Do the math!" he hissed and pushed her away.

But Natalia was one stubborn woman. "It's you isn't it?" she asked and watched him walking behind his desk.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said and didn't look at her. Instead he played with the files and showed them from the left to the right and back, just to act busy.

"It all makes sense now," she exclaimed. "The food, the whisky, the book, my perfume, last night.." she trailed off with she saw him tense.

"Stop your annoying blabbering woman," he said.

"Or what?" she challenged him. She was so sure it was him. There couldn't be another reason. "You will do the same again as you did last night?"

His shame quickly turned into anger. How dare she challenged him like that. "We can definitely have a repeat of last night if that's what you wish," he growled.

"You didn't have the guts to go through it last night, so why would you do it now?"

"And what would you know about what I did last night?" he called her bluff.

"Well I do know that you didn't rape me," she said matter of factly. "Which is interesting since you've always talked about it since the day I came here."

"You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh yes I do. Believe me when I say that a woman knows if she'd been raped," she took a deep breath. "Horatio."

In lightning speed he rounded his desk and shoved her against the nearest wall. Ignoring her hiss of pain, he growled darkly. "Don't. Call. Me. That."

Blinking away the stars in front of her eyes, she couldn't help but smile. "I can't believe it," she whispered. "All this time, we'd been looking for you," she said, "we tried to find you, tried to contact you." There was a distinct trembling in her voice. "We thought you were dead, I thought you were dead. And all this time you were so close…so damn close." Carefully she ran her fingers through his short black hair and then let them caress his cheek. His features looked a bit different and his face looked a bit wrong. _"Probably some kind of plastic surgery,"_ she thought. "Right in front of us."

Horatio closed his eyes for a moment. It had been so long ago that someone had touched him with such gentleness. He felt torn between being relieved and angered. Relieved that he didn't have to play with her any longer. Angered that she had found out because of his own clumsiness, which would put the two of them in great danger. If she ever said his name again and someone would overhear them…he didn't want to think about it. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

He opened his eyes and gave her a pained look. "Treating you that way. Last night I almost-" he rasped.

She put a finger on his lips to stop him. "But you didn't. That's all that counts. Instead you gave me some drug and I fell asleep," she pointed out. "You hurt me, yes, but I tried to poison you with sleeping pills," she grinned.

Horatio just snorted.

"We're quite the pair, aren't we?"

"You could say that," he nodded and finally let go of her. Taking a step back, he took a deep breath. "You realize that I can't let you go?"

"Yes," she nodded. "If you were able to, you would have already done so."

"Right," he agreed and sat down at the table. "Frank told me that the others are looking for you. They actually turn up every stone in order to find you."

"You're in contact with Frank?" she asked intrigued and joined him.

"Yes, he's my contact. If I have any information, I tell him. And vice versa."

"So he had known all the time," she huffed in good nature. "And let us worry."

"Seems like it," he smiled. "Would you like me to deliver him a message when I'm meeting him later?"

"You will see him?" she asked curiously.

"Yes, it seems that my work as a double agent is coming to an end and I need to talk to him."

"This sounds interesting. Tell me more."

Horatio just sighed, but knew that he had to tell her anyway. She was now part of the whole thing and it was up to him to keep her safe until this was all over. "Why don't I start at the beginning?" he said and handed her the syrup.

DGDGDGDG

It was late in the afternoon when Horatio arrived at their meeting point. The whole morning and noon he had explained Natalia about his role in this scheme and what was lying ahead of them. In return, she had told him about her suspicions about his Julian Evans persona and how this morning it all had fallen into place. He still couldn't believe that his habits had given him away. Well he loved this sort of whisky and he had loved the book that Natalia had given him as a present. Not to forget that he was one of the very few that knew about her comfort food or the perfume he had given her. He had somehow forgotten that this wasn't a normal woman living with him, but a full fledged CSI. Well it was too late now to lament over this anyway.

"Frank," he greeted the other man when he approached. "I'm glad that you were able to come."

Frank crossed his arms in front of his chest. "We'll see." To be honest, he had almost dismissed Horatio's message. All of Horatio's recent behaviour had taken a toll on his trust in his friend and he was actually wary about him and his "news".

Sensing that Frank wasn't very forthcoming, Horatio just sighed. "It's coming to an end," he said and reached for a cigarette.

"How so?" Frank asked and pointed at the cigarette. "Is that necessary."

"Bad habit, really need to stop it once this is over," Horatio smirked and took a pull. "But let's concentrate on the important things. There will be a meeting in a week's time. Gonzalvez has tried out his new drug and is euphoric. Now he wants to sell it to the others and so they'll all meet somewhere. I don't know where yet, but he'll tell me soon. This means we have to come up with a plan."

Frank just raised his brows. "And how do I know that this isn't a big, fat lie and we'll run into a trap?"

Taken aback, he almost let the cigarette fall onto the ground. "Excuse me? What are you taking me for? I'm a cop."

"Oh really? Last time you shoved your ugly tattoo into my face and babbled something about 'this is me now'. So why should I trust you?"

"Because I'm your friend, you stubborn Texan. I'd never do anything that would endanger your lives."

"Ah, just like you were overly worried about Natalia, right?" Frank drawled, completely unimpressed by Horatio's words.

"Ah," Horatio nodded and smiled a bit. "Natalia, yes, this was probably not a clever move."

"Explain."

"Well, you know," he massaged his neck, "she's been with me. The whole time."

Frank just blinked. "She..you..what?!" he spluttered.

"Yes," Horatio nodded. "I kidnapped her. Gonzalvez actually asked me to kill her as a revenge, but I…talked him into letting me keep her as..well...as a distraction from all the stress."

"You did WHAT?!" Frank shouted.

"I did nothing to her! Nothing. She lives with me, in my quarters. She hasn't left them since she arrived. She's doing fine."

"And you never told me? We'd been sick with worry for all this time and you git never said a word?" Frank seethed. "I don't believe you."

Well yes, it probably hasn't been a smart move at that time, but what was done was done. No crying over spilled milk. "You should, because it's the truth."

"Proof it."

Suddenly Horatio realized that he had done a very good job in playing Julian Evans. He'd been so good that his best friend didn't trust him any longer. If it weren't so sad, he would laugh about it and consider a career in Hollywood. But no, it actually hurt to know that Frank didn't trust his word, something he had always taken for granted. "I can hardly call her and let you talk to her, but I do have a message from her," he said and searched for the paper in his pockets. "Here you go."

Frank eyed the paper suspiciously, but took it never the less. "You better watch out when we meet again, Frank Tripp!" he read out loud. "You've known all the time where he was and you never told us. I'm not happy with you!"

"If I were you, I'd wear a bullet proof vest," Horatio added shamelessly. "Or a jockstrap. Or maybe both."

"Very funny, Caine," Frank huffed and once again read the message. This was Natalia's scrawl. He had seen it so many times over the years they had worked together that there was no doubt about it. "So she really is with you?"

"Yeah," Horatio said softly. "She's safe for now. Well as safe as she can be in Julian Evans' presence, right?" he said dryly.

"Right," Frank nodded. "So," he took a deep breath. "A big meeting?"

Horatio was relieved that Frank was listening to him now. "Yes, a very big one. Several big drug lords and of course Gonzalvez will be there. At first they do the business and afterwards the pleasure. I'd say that you should strike when it comes to pleasure time. Knowing them, they'll indulge in the one or other druggish kind of pleasure."

"Makes sense. And what about you?"

"I'll be there as well. I'm his right man after all, so I'll be there when they sign the contracts and afterwards..well…of course I'll be there. Probably with Natalia."

"With Natalia?"

"Yes. I can't leave her alone in my rooms that night. I don't trust the other men at all. Just this morning I found one in my living-room. And let me tell you that this new drug is making men rather…aggressive, so..no..," he shook his head, "definitely not leaving her there alone."

Frank just nodded. It did make sense and it was also typical Horatio. If he thought that Natalia was in danger he would do his best to keep her save. "So what do you suggest?" he asked and brought them back to the original topic.

"It's not going to be easy for sure. But once I find out where the party will hold place, you can start gathering the forces."

"What will you do?"

"Playing my role. I have to be Evans, there's no other way. If they only have the slightest suspicion that I might be a spy, they'll kill me. I've seen it with my own eyes what will happen then," he shuddered.

"Well then I'll tell the others that we want you alive."

"That's nice of you," Horatio said sarcastically. "Wouldn't it be a good idea if you tried to keep them all alive?"

"Oh, we'll try," Frank said dryly. "But it was certainly worth seeing your face."

"Funny," he scoffed. "Really funny. So are we going to work out a plan or will you continue making fun of me?"

He had really missed talking to Horatio like this. It seemed that his friend was coming back, knowing that the charade was soon to be over. He just hoped that everything would work out fine and that they could all get back to their normal lives again. "Well for now we can work on the plan, but I'm sure that something will come to my mind."

"How wonderful," Horatio drawled and rolled his eyes. "Maybe you should consider a career in the comedy field."

"I'll think about it," Frank grinned. "And now let's be serious again…"

_tbc_


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: As always, thanks a lot for your reviews, especially to the ones I can't thank personally due to their anonymous status. So Natalia knows, Horatio explained to her and he's planning with Frank. The final showdown has arrived. Let's see what happens to our favourite redhead and Natalia. Just so you know, since this was a challenge, I had to write the story to a maximum of words. Maybe it sometimes appears that I could have went deeper into it, but with only so many words I can use, I tried to make the best of it. Hope you enjoy and let me know what you think. **

**Chapter 9**

A week later found Horatio and Natalia busy getting ready for the big event. Well Horatio was getting ready for both the "conference" and the party, while Natalia would just be part of the latter. Nevertheless they were busy in the bathroom and put the finishing touches on their outfits.

"I miss your blue eyes," Natalia told him when she eyed him the mirror. "And your red hair."

Horatio just chuckled. "I never thought I'd say this, but I miss my hair as well."

Natalia laughed. "It sure is a special color."

"Tell me about it," he grumbled in good humor and was quite pleased with himself. (He was actually looking forward to the meeting and the party afterwards. It would mean the end of this double life after all. Something he really wanted.)

Natalia looked down at herself and sighed. "This dress is really quite…showing," she complained. She didn't mind well fitting clothes that would show her curves, but this?

Looking at her, Horatio smiled at her. "I know, it sure…is." It really was quite revealing and he had a difficult time to ignore that. Natalia was after all a beautiful woman and he was just a man. "But you could hardly come in a suit or something. Gonzalvez wouldn't be pleased about it."

"I know, I just don't like being eyed like some piece of meat, you know?"

"I know," he nodded. "Don't worry, I'll be with you the whole time," he reassured her. "You're mine after all, and they know better than to mess with me."

"My knight in shining armour," she joked and left the bathroom, with him trailing behind her.

"I'll pick you up after the meeting. Gonzalvez knows that I intend to let you out of your cage and to have some fun with you in public." He didn't like the sound of that at all.

Neither did Natalia, but she understood why he was doing this. To be honest she didn't feel safe here without Horatio. "It's okay," she reassured him. "Whatever you got to do, do it. It's all part of the game."

"And one hell of a game it is," he sighed. "Well, I'll see you soon. I doubt that the meeting will take long. They all love to party."

"I figured as much."

"Don't drink anything at all. I'm sure that most drinks will be laced with one drug or another. Mostly my most drinks aren't spiked, but I can never be sure," he instructed her.

"Well it's a good thing that we're not there for our amusement then, right?"

"Right."

"So are you looking forward to it?"

"To what?" he asked confused.

"That it's ending today of course," she smiled at him.

"You know Nat…this…this is a question I have asked myself for quite some time now and to be honest, I don't have an answer to that." Did he like being the right hand of a drug lord? No, he didn't. But did he enjoy the conveniences that came with such a lucrative job? Certainly. Looking at his watch, he took a deep breath. "I'll need to get going. Later."

"Later," she retorted confused, because this hadn't been the answer she'd been expecting. How could he enjoy doing this? Looking around and seeing the wealth that was displayed in the room and even looking down at her dress, she could see that this was a nice way of living. But while doing something illegal? She doubted that Horatio would put money over being a respectful citizen. No this wasn't like him at all.

Once he had left, she sat down on the sofa. Now the time of waiting had arrived. She was nervous. She knew about the plan that Horatio, Frank and the Chief had worked out. But she also knew that plans didn't always work out at all. What would happen if they started shooting or what if the SWAT team would arrive too late, or too soon? _"Don't fret, Nat. They all know what to do. Horatio knows what to do. You have to keep calm or they will believe something is amiss. There's no way that you endanger Horatio's work." _Of course this was easier said than done. She'd never been in a room full of criminals high on drugs after all.

Looking upwards she took a deep breath. "Well if I can ask you a favour, then please take care of us, especially Horatio. Don't let all his work and effort be for nothing. Please make sure that everything works out fine."

DGDGDGDG

Horatio eyed the crowd in front of him. It was a typical Gonzalvez party (or as Horatio liked to call them revelries) and it was in full swing. Just as he had predicted, the meeting itself hadn't taken all that long. The lords had watched a couple being used as guinea pigs and they had all been very pleased by the results. Horatio had tried his best to stay indifferent to what he was watching and more often than not, he had just read through the contracts again, or had at least pretended to. Thanks to his reputation, no one had questioned him on that. They all believed that he was doing things like this in his free time after all (it probably bored him to death to watch a woman being violated) and Horatio had seen no reason to correct them on this.

And now he was here, waiting for the big surprise that would happen soon. Or at least he hoped so. For the last two days he hadn't been in contact with Frank at all, because he feared that someone might get wind of it, so he had no idea if they'd attack today or not. Turning around, he gave Natalia a very small smile. "Come with me," he told her and dragged her to a rather secluded part of the room.

"But-I-what," she stuttered and stumbled after him.

"Shut up," he hissed at her and pressed her against the wall. He quickly caught her struggling hands and lifted her arms over her head. "We're being watched," he whispered, while trailing down kiss along her neck. "You may struggle a bit, but not too much."

Well since this was certainly not a comfortable position, it wasn't all that difficult to struggle against his hands. Not that she had any chance. She had learned that the night not long ago.

Horatio chuckled lowly. "Don't worry," he whispered and captured her lips with his. He took advantage of her surprised yelp and deepened the kiss immediately. He knew that Gonzalvez had an eye on him and he also knew that the other men in the room were just waiting for a chance to go after the woman pressed against him. He also knew that he'd do anything to keep them away.

Slowly he let go of her arms and smiled a bit when he felt them being wrapped around his neck. Well she either enjoyed this little episode or she was a really good actress. Maybe both? He wouldn't know.

Wrapping her arms around him felt natural. Just like the hands on her hip and thigh. If the others wanted a show, she would give it to them. And though she'd never admit it to anyone else, she'd always had a slight crush on her supervisor. And honestly, which woman in the lab didn't? The man had an aura around him that was drawing women to him like moths to a flame. His presence was extraordinary and the fact that he stared every criminal down was also quite an attractive trait. So no, kissing him like this was no hardship at all.

Breaking the kiss, Horatio took a couple of breaths before he gave Natalia an amused look. "Are you sure that you didn't drink anything?"

"Why?"

"You're quite enthusiastic tonight," he grinned, but lost it when she pulled at his hair. "Ow, that hurt."

"That was the idea, my dear," she said sweetly.

"Minx," he growled and started to attack her neck again, when there was suddenly a loud commotion. "The cavalry," he said and quickly turned around, reaching for his weapon.

Natalia just stiffened up when she heard the first shots and screams. She'd never felt so helpless. She had no weapon and probably no side was really caring for her safety. The only one that did was Horatio, but he also had the problem of not belonging to any side at all officially.

"Stay here," he told her and wanted to find out what exactly was going on, when he felt her hand around his wrist.

"Don't leave me. Stay here, it's too dangerous. The police hardly care if Julian Evans dies and you can hardly shoot at anyone on the bad side without blowing your cover," she tried to make him see reason, which wasn't all that easy. Horatio Caine was someone who never shied away from a battle and you mostly found him in the middle of it. But this could be fatal this time. "Kiss me," she demanded.

"What?" he blurted out. Was she insane? People were shooting and she asked him to kiss her?

"Kiss me and try to get to this door," she pointed to a small, hidden door a few metres to their right.

"But-"

"Your friends will hardly watch what you're doing. The higher ups are always the ones leaving the sinking ship at first," she pointed out. "And the police will not shoot at you while I'm with you."

"You're insane," he growled. "I'm even more insane for following this crazy plan of yours."

Natalia just grinned and stopped his talking by kissing him again. It was definitely worth a try and better than just waiting for someone stumble over them and shooting them for fun.

Horatio couldn't believe he was actually doing this. If someone would have told him that one day he'd try to sneak out of a shooting by kissing a woman, he would have laughed at them and called them crazy. And he was doing just that. From the corner of his eyes he saw that they were closing the distance to the door slowly but surely and when they were close enough, he reached for the handle. That was when he felt the cold metal pressed against his head. Out of reflex he reached for his gun.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you Evans," a cold voice behind them said and Horatio knew when he had lost, so he let go of the gun.

"Let the woman go and don't try any trick. I will gladly shoot you if you do, trust me."

"I'm sure you will," Horatio growled but did as he was told.

"Are you alright ma'am?" another voice was asking and Horatio hated the fact that he was standing with his back towards the others.

"I..erm..yes," Natalia said confused and was torn between staying or walking away with the other officer. She didn't want to leave Horatio alone, but then again, how would it look like if a CSI would try to stay with her kidnapper, Julian Evans?

As if he could sense her struggling, Horatio gave her a cold look. "Don't worry my little slut, we'll see each other sooner than you think."

"Shut up," the cop behind him pushed him roughly against the wall.

Almost immediately, Horatio could feel something warm running down his forehead. "This is called police brutality," he forced out. "Let's see what my lawyer will say to this."

The cop just laughed and twisted Horatio's arms behind his back so he could handcuff him. "You do that Evans. Maybe you can plead for that when you're eating your last meal. And now shut up."

"Asshole," Horatio shouted and was being pushed towards the exit. While walking, he saw Gonzalvez in a similar position, shouting something about false imprisonment and that his lawyer would bail him out soon enough. _"I doubt that, I highly doubt that Antonio. No judge in their right mind will let you go. Well at least something good has come out of it. Gonzalvez is caught and Natalia is safe again."_ But when it came to his own future? He had absolutely no idea.

tbc


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Thank you all for your reviews guys. This is the second last chapter of the story and I hope that you'll enjoy it as always. Let's find out what will happen to our dear Horatio, shall we? Especially if he'll meet the team again and if he does, how will the reactions be?**

**Chapter 10**

Horatio was sitting in one lonely interrogation room, waiting for things to come. Once he had exited the party-house, he'd been pushed into one of the many waiting cars and been brought to some place or the other. He really wasn't sure where he was. It wasn't the PD that was for sure. The interrogation rooms looked completely different to the one he was sitting in and the officers he had talked to had also been unknown to him.

He'd been questioned for hours without a stop and he had to admit that he now understood why some perps reacted quite aggressively during interviews. When you've answered the same question for the fifth time, you got annoyed. So did he and now he was brooding here alone, his hands still in handcuffs and connected to the table so he couldn't get up. _"Damn, if a priest comes in now and gives me some speech, I'll surely be sent to the stool immediately,"_ he thought to himself.

Hardly fair, if you asked him.

He had just done what he'd been told after all.

But hey, something similar happened to Ray as well, right?

Well his brother had been dirty, but…

So had he in a way.

Really only in a way, but he knew his luck.

It ran in the family.

"_Great, I'm as good as dead,"_ he groaned and put his head onto the table. If no one wanted to talk to him, he could at least get some kind of rest. The last days had been quite stressful, heck the whole damn year had been stressful. He deserved some rest. Even it was an uncomfortable and restless one.

"Asleep during work? Now that's some work attitude," a familiar voice filled the room and jerked Horatio awake.

Not bothering to look up, Horatio stayed as he was. "Fuck off."

"Now, now Lt. Caine, is this some way to greet a friend and a superior?" a second voice joined in and this time Horatio sat up straight immediately.

"Uh, Sir…," he stuttered. "I'm sorry Chief Higgins," he apologized immediately. "I was…well.."

"In your altar ego?" the Chief asked and gave him the easiest way out and Horatio grabbed the chance with both hands.

"That's right," he nodded. Then he looked at Frank. "Sorry for that, Frank."

The man just waved it off. "Don't worry, I'm used to a lot worse," he said. "I've heard that you gave the others a hard time? Almost everyone I met was grumbling about some 'jackass called Evans'", Frank smirked.

Horatio had the good grace to blush a bit. "Well, they were quite annoying," he tried to defend himself, but couldn't help but smile. "Plus I had exact instructions on who I'm allowed to talk to."

"This is correct," the Chief nodded. "Don't worry about it, Lieutenant. It won't be long and Julian Evans will never have existed at all."

Well this was certainly a relief. This hopefully meant that none of the things that he had done in the last months would be hold against him. "I'm glad to hear that, Sir. Evans has some…annoying qualities that I don't mind getting rid of," Horatio smiled and then looked at his hands. "Be a friend and open the cuffs, Frank?" he asked the other man.

"Ah, I don't think I can," the Texan shook his head. "There are still some people who'd like to talk to you and we won't let you ran away, right?"

"I've been interrogated for hours," Horatio groaned. "Isn't that over now?" He looked at the other man. "Chief?"

"There's nothing I can do about it," the Chief shook his head. "This group was quite insistent."

"Wonderful," Horatio mumbled and let his head fall onto the table again. Who'd want to talk to him? DEA? CIA? FBI? Oh my God, NSA? He had no idea.

Unbeknownst to him, the small group was silently gathering in the room and the last one closed the room behind them.

"Just tell them that I'm not available at the moment, Frank."

"Oh I think you are," a female voice startled him. "You have some explaining to do, mister."

Horatio immediately tensed up. He hadn't thought about this particular group at all. Very slowly he sat up again and eyed the people in front of him. He had both dreaded and longed for this moment. He had missed them so much, but he would have rather liked to see them again when he was back to his normal self.

Horatio wasn't the only one who didn't know what to say. For more than a year they had been searching for him, well for both. They'd been searching for Horatio Caine and Julian Evans. And now, he…they…were sitting here, right in front of them. There were so many things that they wished to say to him and yet, nothing came out.

This was until Natalia, stepped forward and took the initiative. "You're hurt," she exclaimed and walked to him. "How did that happen?" she asked and gently caressed the bandage on his forehead.

"Police brutality," Horatio croaked, which made Natalia snort.

"And I thought I told you to stay out of it," she chided him softly.

"You know me," he smiled at her timidly.

"That I do," she nodded and furrowed her brows when she noticed his still cuffed hands. "Really Frank," she put her hands on her hips. "Is that necessary? Open the handcuffs at once!" No, she was still not happy when it came to Frank.

Knowing this, the man exchanged a quick glance with the Chief who just nodded his affirmative.

"Ah thank you," Horatio sighed in relief when he could move freely again. "Feels good."

The others had watched silently. It was still a confusing thought that the man they hated was the same man they loved. Why had they never made the connection before? When you heard him talk, it was obviously Horatio. And the way he looked? Well the black hair was different and his face looked different as well. His eyes…well the blue eyes were a trademark of Horatio Caine and so had been the dark eyes of Julian Evans. The changes were subtle, yes, but subtle enough to throw them off.

Horatio got up from his chair and eyed the others warily. How to start? "Listen I know I have a lot to explain to you and I hope that Frank will help me with it, but-"

"Oh shush and come here," Calleigh interrupted him and almost flew into his arms. "I don't know if I should slap you or kiss you. You gave us such a scare and then so much work," she exclaimed and wrapped her arms around him. "All this time you were here in Miami and we searched the country for you," she said and after a while, she broke away from him. "Really mister," she poked his chest with a finger, "you should feel ashamed." She quickly brushed some tears away. "And you have a lot of explaining to do, but right now we're just happy that you're back again and in one piece!"

"She's right about that, H," Eric chimed in. "We're definitely happy to have you back."

"Even though I can't say that the black hair is suiting you at all," Ryan grinned and joined the others by Horatio's side.

"This screams for a group hug," Natalia laughed and soon enough they did jut that.

"I know why I missed you guys," Horatio said softly. "No one knows better to squeeze me to death than you do."

"Better don't forget that, H," Eric grinned and patted his boss's back.

"I won't, believe me I won't," he smiled affectionately at them. It felt so good to have his family back. He knew that there was still a rough road ahead of him, but he knew that he could get back to his old life then. "I know I don't say it often enough, but I love you guys."

"We love ya too," they said in unison. They had their boss back, their friend and most of all the missing part of their family. And they swore to themselves that they wouldn't let him go again.

tbc


	11. Epilogue

**A/N: So this is it, only a small epilogue before this story is finished. Thank you all for your support and reviews. I always had a great time reading them. Since I'll be on vacation from tomorrow on, my replies for member reviewers will take some time. To all the anonymous ones, THANK YOU for taking your time to review. Hope you all enjoy the last part. **

**Jess**

**Epilogue**

When Natalia walked to the elevator at the end of her shift, her gaze immediately fell to the abandoned office above her. It had been four weeks since they'd all seen Horatio for the last time.

Four very long weeks.

After their small get together in the interrogation room, Horatio had been brought to some unknown place. From what Frank had told them, Horatio had undergone a few more interrogations with the Chief and everyone involved in his mission. Afterwards, he'd had another surgery, to get rid off the plastics in his face and then he'd gone under a slight detox. During his undercover work he'd inhaled and ingested various drugs that needed to get out of his body. Not to forget his smoking. This would probably the biggest fight he had yet to go through.

"_Well, I can't blame him for starting to smoke. It was a stressful job and it's better than drinking yourself into stupor. Not that smoking is healthy at all,"_ she thought to herself when she entered the lift and pressed the button for the car deck.

She was missing him. A lot actually. They had spent several weeks together and even though she hadn't known about his real identity for the most part, they had been roommates in a way. Coming back to an empty apartment now, felt utterly wrong.

"_No need to get all gloomy about it now, Natalia. He'll be back soon, even if not as your roommate."_ But seeing Horatio again, as his real self, was good enough for her.

"So what to cook for tonight?" she mumbled and pressed the remote to open her car.

"What about dinner?"

Natalia spun around and wore a deer in the headlight impression. "I-"

Horatio chuckled softly and walked to her. "I'm sorry for scaring you. Can I make it up to by taking you out for dinner tonight?"

"I didn't know you were back again," she whispered.

"I'm not, well, not officially anyway," he smiled at her. "So dinner?"

"I, yes, dinner...sounds nice," she nodded and felt rather foolish.

"Great," he grinned and stopped right in front of her. "I have to admit that I missed you, you know?"

"I…I missed you too," she responded and let her eyes trail over his face. He almost looked the same again. His eyes were blue again, his hair red. His face still seemed a bit swollen and she could see a few more scars, tiny as they were. "You look like-"

"Myself again? Yeah, more or less," he nodded. "Some scars won't vanish and not everything is healed yet, but I'm getting there."

"This is good," smiled and felt a bit nervous suddenly. The last time they'd been this close, they had both played a role. Had anything of it been the truth?

"Do you remember the question you asked me?" he asked and took her hands in his.

"Which one?" she asked mesmerized.

"If I'm looking forward to be myself again, to the end of this undercover work."

Yes, she did remember it, just like she remembered his answer. "Yes."

"I told you that I didn't know an answer to that," he said. "But in the last couple of weeks," one of his hands let go of hers and gently brushed her cheek, "I realized that yes, yes I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to leave Evans behind me. I'm looking forward to be Horatio again and most of all I'm looking forward to see you again. To..," he took a deep breath and decided to stake everything on one card. "To see what might happen here.."

Natalia's mouth was formed in an O when she realized what exactly he was talking about. So this wasn't a dinner between two colleagues or two friends. No this was a date. A real date. If she wanted it to be. Finding her voice again, she gave him a mega watt smile. "I think I'd like that very much."

**The End**

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